Maruful aware of the Elephants

Host Chittagong Abahani Limited are eager to continue their winning run in the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup but head coach Maruful Haque is aware of the fighting spirit of Young Elephants before facing the Laos outfit in their second Group A match at MA Aziz Stadium in the port city Wednesday.

Maruful’s side thrashed reigning champion TC Sports Club of Maldives 4-1 in their opening game, while the Elephants came from behind to shock Mohun Bagan Athletic Club with a 2-1 win and gained full praise all over for being the only participant in the meet who have no foreign players.

The Elephants also have the youngest squad in the tournament as the average age of their players is around 20, and most of them are college- and university-going students.  

“I was surprised to see their game against Mohun Bagan. As they have no foreign players, they have a good bonding among each other. It will not be an easy match. But our target is to win the game and get close to the semi-finals,” said Maruful Tuesday, praising Elephants striker Somxay Keohanam, who scored a brace in the first game.

Jamal Bhuiyan will only be interested to play in the Indian Super League if there is good offer from the respective clubs, said the star captain of Bangladesh football team Tuesday after receiving offers from the agents of ISL franchises.https://t.co/wk9dAGOWP2#JAMAL #BHUIYAN

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 22, 2019

Maruful added that he is unlikely to make any change from the first game. 

Their Ghanaian striker Prince Tagoe, who played the World Cup in 2010, is likely to remain on the bench due to lack of fitness. 

The match kicks off at 7pm after the first match of the day between TC Sports and Mohun Bagan at 4pm.