I-League champions Dempo Sports Club were, on Saturday, handed a favourable draw as they were pitted against Singapore League runners-up Home United in the AFC Cup quarterfinals.
If the Goan side, who finished second in Group A behind Al Muharraq of Bahrain, wins against Home United in the two-leg quarterfinals on September 16 and 23, they will meet the winner of the match between Oman league champions Al Nahda and Singaporean league title holders Singapore Armed Forces in the semifinals.
Dempo reached their maiden quarterfinal this year after elimination at the group stage in the last two editions in 2005 and 2006.
Home United are the 2004 edition semifinalists and quarter finalists in 2005. But, they were eliminated in the group stage in 2006.
All the other draws, interestingly, produced East-West meetings.
While Bahrain league champions Muharraq face a tricky assignment after being drawn against Malaysian league winners Kedah, another Malaysian side Perak play Safa of Lebanon and Singapore Armed Forces fight out Al Nahda of Oman.
Quarterfinal Lineup:
Perak (Malaysia) vs Safa (Lebanon); Armed Forces (Singapore) vs Al Nahda (Oman); Dempo (India) vs Home United (Singapore); Muharraq (Bahrain) vs Kedah (Malaysia).
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