  Preliminary results of a search for distant clusters of galaxies using the
recently released I-band data obtained by the ESO Imaging Survey are presented.
In this first installment of the survey, data covering about 3 square degrees
in I-band are being used. The matched filter algorithm is applied to two sets
of frames that cover the whole patch contiguously and these independent
realizations are used to assess the performance of the algorithm and to
establish, from the data itself, a robust detection threshold. A preliminary
catalog of distant clusters is presented, containing 39 cluster candidates with
estimated redshifts 0.3 < z < 1.3 over an area of 2.5 square degrees.
