KOLKATA: East Bengal FC look to keep the early-season momentum going as Antonio Lopez Habas’s team begins its AFC Champions League Two campaign against reigning Jordanian champions Al Hussein in Amman on Wednesday.Last month, East Bengal qualified for the revamped second tier of Asian club football by brushing aside Kuwait’s Al Arabi SC and followed it with their Durand Cup triumph with another dominating performance against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan SG.“We are excited to participate in the ACL Two group stage. It’s a unique chance to compete at the highest level in Asia, and we want to inculcate the same mindset in the players. We want to continue the winning momentum that we’ve achieved over the past two months. We want to replicate that success in the game against Al-Hussein,” Habas said during a press conference in Amman on Tuesday.The reigning Indian champions landed in Jordan with only three foreigners — Dani Ramirez, Mohammed Rashid and Croatian newcomer Diego Zivulic, but Habas kept his faith in the domestic firepower. David Lalhlansanga and Edmund Lalrindika’s performances against Al Arabi and Mohun Bagan have proved that they are capable of carrying the team’s ambitions on big occasions.“I think East Bengal now have (got) the level of playing (in away matches). Never do I play for a draw and the idea is always to win the match. Because the moment you stop thinking about the possibility of winning, it will finish your career as a coach,” Habas said before leaving for Jordan.Al Hussein are hosting East Bengal at a time when the home team’s house seems to be in disorder. Having lost three of their last five matches, the Jordanian champions have parted ways with their head coach Ahmad Hayel and and his assistant Bashar Bani Yaseen will be in charge of them in their Group D opener at the Amman International Stadium.
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