I-League: Dempo keen to improve home form

Panaji: Dempo SC are yet to start a game with the full quota of four foreign players in the starting lineup, yet they have shown they can challenge the big guns in the I-League.
Last week, Dempo stunned title challengers Inter Kashi and will now look for another crucial win as they take on third-placed Namdhari FC at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Thursday.
Juan Mera and Damian Perez were the two foreign players who started the last game. They combined well to give Dempo a 2-0 win with Argentine Perez scoring a brace and Juan getting an assist.
Dempo have completed their foreign quota with the signing of Marcus Joseph as the sixth foreigner. Saher Shaeen (Syria), Didier Brossou (Ivory Coast) and Lukman Adefemi (Nigeria) are the other foreign players.
Coach Samir Naik, however, is unlikely to start with four of them in the starting lineup.
“Most of the games we have played with either two or one foreigner. It will be a boost for us if we can get all the four foreigners in the starting 11, but it doesn’t look (we can do that) at the moment,” Samir told TOI during the pre-match media interaction on Wednesday.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Joseph has trained with the team only twice. He has previously played for Gokulam Kerala and Mohammedan SC.
“It’s not the number of foreigners that are playing but I am happy with them all, along with the local players. Most of them have joined late or some of them are carrying some injury,” said Samir.
Dempo are eighth in the standings with 17 points from 13 games. They have done well in away games but need to improve at home.
In nine away matches, Dempo have secured four wins and managed two draws while they have suffered three defeats.
On the other hand, in four home games, Dempo have managed only a win and lost three games. They could score only once in their 1-0 win against bottom-placed Delhi FC and conceded six times.
However, Dempo will have a psychological edge as they defeated Namdhari 1-0 in the first leg.
“Even I’m concerned about that (home record). I feel the boys are not familiar with the Fatorda stadium, it's like a new venue for them. Because most of the boys have not played at this ground. To play here, you need experience, good energy. But gradually we are learning and getting that experience at Fatorda or bigger stadiums in India, maybe even abroad in a few years,” said Samir.
Meanwhile, Namdhari has been a surprise package this season after including foreigners in their squad. In their debut season last year, Namdhari had an all-Indian team that finished ninth.
Now they can dream of lifting the trophy if they manage to get their campaign back on track. They dropped points in a 2-3 defeat against Shillong Lajong FC in the last game.
“So far, our planning is good, and we are doing good. It was our debut season in the I-League last edition, and we learnt a lot. One important thing is that we retained the same squad. They know each other very well,” said coach Harpreet Singh.
Namdhari’s Cledson Da Silva is the leagues fourth top goal scorer with eight strikers, while Francis Addo has three goals with a brace against Lajong. “Foreigners are doing their best and helping us a lot to maintain our performance. If we stick to our plan, we can win this game,” said Harpreet.