East Bengal’s Alejandro Menendez eyes three points against TRAU FC

East Bengal will be high on confidence after their thumping 4-1 win over NEROCA FC as they take on TRAU FC on Saturday in their second home match of the season.

After two draws, the Red and Golds picked up their maiden win in Manipur earlier this week and will be looking for a second win on the trot.

“The win was important. TRAU FC are a difficult opponent. If you have seen them playing you will see they have the resources to win a game. We have to use the confidence from the NEROCA game tomorrow (Saturday) because we have to win,” said East Bengal’s Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez.

The Kolkata giants will miss Spanish attacker Jaime Santos Colado who has been handed an interim suspension by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on disciplinary ground.

Jaime was charged with misconduct for an incident involving a ball boy in Ludhiana after the team’s game against Punjab FC.

Menendez, though defending his star player, said, “Jaime is an important player. We have to work with the players we have on our team. He did nothing. He was just finishing a game in which he could have scored a goal but someone from the opponent handled the ball and he couldn’t score, the referee didn’t see. He was disappointed and after the match, he kicked the ball without any intention of hurting anyone. It is absolutely surprising for us. “

The Spanish boss further added, “We don’t know about the situation yet, we will see. We expect the situation to get sorted soon for the betterment of football and hopefully, nothing comes out of it.”

The former Real Madrid Castilla coach refused to underestimate opponents TRAU who started their I-League campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Chennai City and then followed it up with a 4-0 thumping against Mohun Bagan.

“I think most people are thinking that it will be an easy game but I don’t think it is an easy match at all.”

East Bengal had a tough start to their campaign but the win in Manipur has brought them on track again. Speaking about his team’s performance so far, Menedez opined, “I don’t think we had a bad start. It was just the beginning. I think our team is strong and we showed that last match. In three games, we scored six goals and we could have scored three more.”