Bengaluru FC take on Kitchee in AFC Cup pre-quarter finals

Bengaluru FC Media

Bengaluru FC will eye the big chance to make the quarterfinal of the AFC Cup when they take on Kitchee SC in a vital one-off Round-of-16 fixture at the Mong Kok Stadium, in Hong Kong, on Wednesday.

The Blues put behind a slow start to string together wins and finish second behind Cup holders Johor Darul Ta’zim in Group H, earning them a spot in the knock-out stages of the competition for the second season running. And Technical Analyst Mathew Holland, who will be at the Bengaluru touchline as coach Ashley Westwood serves the third of his four-game suspension, hoped the team would rise to the occasion. “We’re up against a very tough team in Kitchee who have done well in the group stages. But so have we, getting wins in the middle. It’s a Round-of-16 game which is always going to be tricky but we are confident because we always prepare well. It’s going to be an exciting game,” said 

Holland while addressing the media on Tuesday.

Interestingly, the Blues are no strangers to the Mong Kok turf, having played South China AA at the same stage of the competition last season. The game ended 2-0 in favour of the Hong Kong side on a heavy surface but Blues midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh was confident of the team putting together a performance that would pull them across the line this time around.

“The mood in the dressing room is that of confidence. There’s a desire among the squad to go one better this season and we hope to be able to translate that desire on the pitch. When we played South China we had one eye on the I-League title decider against Mohun Bagan which we had to play three days later. This time around there’s no sharing of focus which is a good thing,” said Lyngdoh who was named midfielder of the I-League for a second season running.

Westwood has rolled out a unique playing XI in almost every game this season and it will be interesting to see how the gaffer approaches this one.

Kitchee finished top of Group F with four wins, one draw and a loss and conceded just once in the group stages and Bengaluru’s attack will have to be on top of their game if they are to take the game to the hosts. The Blues will however be without CK Vineeth who sits out with a sore shoulder while Kim Song Yong missed the trip owing to visa issues.

The game kicks off at 5.30 pm IST and will be televised live on Star Sports 4.

Fixture - BDFA C Division League 2015-16

A total of 82 teams are given entries in the BDFA C Division. Teams are divided in 16 Groups - A to P. The top team from each group will qualify for the knock-out stage. 4 semi-finalists will be promoted to the B Div for the 2016-17 season.

Group A	Group B	Group C
1. Bentex 2. Sporting Youths 3. Veterans 4. JJ Sports 5. Town SC, Hoskote	1. Tornados 2. Queens Stars 3. South India 4. Bangalore Wanderers 5. Netaji	1. Maharaja Socials 2. Nationals 3. Rovers 4. Navarathna 5. Sarvagna Nagar
Group D 1. Bosch 2. JS Sports  3. Rebels FC 4. ITC 5. Crescent	Group E 1. Vehicles 2. United FA  3. Hampinagar 4. Chinnappa Garden 5. Vinayaka	Group F 1. LA Masia 2. Indiranagar 3. C2 FC 4. Triveni 5. Bangalore Gunners
Group G 1. Blitz  2. Excelsior 3. Vijayanagar 4. Rabbani 5. Vel Social	Group H 1 East West  2 Indian Institute of Science 3 Young Muslims  4 NP Kempe Gowda 5 Sunrise	Group I 1 Bangalore Yellows 2 Binny 3 Young Gems 4. South Western Railway 5 Rangers
Group J 1. Koramangala  2. Muslim Heroes 3. Phantom 4. ECD 5. Reds United	Group K 1. Young Boys 2. Devanahalli 3. 515 Army Base Workshop 4. XLR8 5. Gorkha Boys	Group L 1. Shinning Stars  2. Hindu Socials  3. Goans 4. Afgan 5. Bangalore Youngstars
Group M 1. Ambedkar 2. Thamarai Kannan 3. Bangalore Blues 4. Sunesa 5. Bharath Matha	Group N 1. Mohammedan Sporting 2. Bagalakunte 3. Bangalore Warriors 4. Active Union 5. Konkan	Group O 1. Bangalore Boys 2. Indian Knights 3. Bangalore Reds 4. Vivekananda 5. Young Blues
Group P 1. Bangalore Kickers 2. Dharmaraja Union 3. Misaka 4. New Lucky Star 5. Bangalore Muslims  6. City Club

Final 

• 12-07-2016, 4 PM: Bangalore Gunners 3 (Ruban-30'+1', Pragadeshwaran-53', Pravin-60'+3') Vs Misaka 0 

Third Place Match 

• 12-07-2016, 2 PM: Bosch 0 vs Blitz 5 (Multan-4', 39', Sonu-22', Ranjan-28', 33') 

Semi Final 

• 09-07-2016, 2 PM: Bangalore Gunners 4 (Bravin-7’, 56’, 59’, Bharath-26’) Vs Bosch 1 (Bobin-51’) 
• 09-07-2016, 4 PM: Misaka 1 (Hencha-3’) Vs Blitz 0 

Quarter Final 

• 07-07-2016, 2 PM: United FA 2 (Tinzen-38’, Charan-51) Vs Bangalore Gunners 3 (’Karthikeyan-11’, Praveen-36’, 43’)
• 07-07-2016, 4 PM: Sunesa 2 (Rakesh-11’, 58’) Vs BOSCH 3 (Arun Roy-1’, 18’, 46’)
• 08-07-2016, 2 PM: Blitz 0 (4) (Tie-breaker - Kanyappa, Ranjan, Hemanth, Multhan) Vs Bangalore Warriors 0 (3) (Tie-breaker - Arvind, Sham, Bharti Dasan)  
• 08-07-2016, 3:30 PM: Misaka 2 (Joseph-2', Akash-56') Vs Binny 0 

Pre-Quarter Final 

• 01-07-2016, 2 PM: United FA 8 (Gango-2', 6', 16', 45', Hanshiba-8', Arun-37', Vinodh Ringo-50', Ganbh-56') Vs Young Muslims 2 (Suresh Kumar-42', 49') 
• 01-07-2016, 3.30 PM: 515 Army Base Workshop 0 Vs Bangalore Gunners 1 (Pragadesh-10') 
• 02-07-2016, 2 PM: ECD 0 Vs SUNE SA 1 (Nishanth-5’)
• 02-07-2016, 3.30 PM: Bosch 2 (Tsring-17’, Orul-34’) Vs Tornados 0 
• 03-07-2016, 2 PM: Blitz 2 (Ranjan-60’+2’, Mithun -60’+3’) Vs Bangalore Youngsters 0 
• 03-07-2016, 4 PM: Bangalore Warriors 3 (Aravind-29’, Daksunamurthy-32’, 60’+2’, Rajendra Prasad-56’) Vs Bangalore Boys 1 (Kunal-44’) 
• 04-07-2016, 2 PM: Veterans 0 Vs Misaka 3 (Hencha-20’, Akash-22’, Mathew-60’+3’)
• 04-07-2016, 4 PM: Maharaja Socials 1 (Johnson-31’) Vs Binny 2 (Deepak-14’, Jeswin-46’)  

Group P 

Misaka enters the knockout stage from this group

• 17-06-2016: Bangalore Kickers 0 Vs Dharmaraja Union 3 (Vinod-19', Akshit-34', Nihal-50') 
• 17-06-2016: Misaka 6 (Md. Shoaib-12', Akash-14', 33', Clade-16', Joseph-41', 53') Vs New Lucky Star 0 
• 17-06-2016: Bangalore Muslims 0 Vs City Club 2 (Umashankar 46', Regin 48') 
• 20-06-2016: Misaka 4 (Jordan-18', 31', Akash-40', Zeeshan-60'+2') Vs Bangalore Kickers 0 
• 20-06-2016: Dharmaraja Union 5 (Nihal-2', 6', 30'+1', Ayush-12', Vimal Raj-41') Vs Bangalore Muslims 1 (Akash V-4')
• 22-06-2016: City Club 2 (Uma Shankar – 25'+1', 36') Vs Bangalore Kickers 0  
• 24-06-2016: New Lucky Stars 0 Vs City Club 10 (Regan-5', 59', Keshav-8', 57', Bapu-14', Samson-26', 32', 48', Razz-41', Rahul-50')
• 24-06-2016: Bangalore Muslims 1 (Srinand-58') Vs Bangalore Kickers 2 (Girish-12, Aiven-46') 
• 24-06-2016: Misaka 2 (Joseph-29', Joyous-32') Vs Dharmaraja Union 
• 30-06-2016: Misaka 1 (Hencha-4') Vs City Club 1 (Umashankar-41') 
• 28-06-2016: Dharmaraja Union 2 (Nihal-16', Arvind-34') Vs City Club 2 (Sanjay-6, Regan-58')

Group O 

Bangalore Boy enters the knockout stage from this group

• 16-06-2016: Bangalore Boys 2 (Kaushik-4', Manju-17') Vs Indian Knights 1 (Jacob-40') 
• 16-06-2016: Vivekananda Vs Bangalore Reds
  Vivekananda got walk over as Bangalore Reds did not turn up  
• 19-06-2016: Young Blues 2 (Mintu-5', Jerin-60'+1') Vs Bangalore Boys 2 (Nrupatunga-23', Kaushik-25') 
• 19-06-2016: Vivekananda 2 (Shivakumar-8' Edwin-16') Vs Indian Knights 1 (Das-39') 
• 21-06-2016: Vivekananda 0 Vs Young Blues 2 (Ravi-19', Karthik-59')
• 23-06-2016: Young Blues 0 Vs Indian Knights 3 (Antony Raj-14', Prasanna-16', Arokia Raj-52') 
• 28-06-2016: Bangalore Boys 1 (Viru-38') Vs Vivekananda 1 (Shivakumar-13')

Group N 

Bangalore Warriors enters the know out stage from this group

• 15-06-2016: Mohammedan Sporting 2 (Raghavendra-23', 50') Vs Bagalakunte 0 
• 16-06-2016: Active Union 1 (Pruthvi-52') Vs Bangalore Warriors 4 (Arvind-19', 20', 22', Shaym-62') 
• 18-06-2016: Mohammedan Sporting 1 (Raghavendra-32') Vs Konkan 0 
• 20-06-2016: Mohammedan Sporting 0 Vs Bangalore Warriors 5 (Srinivas-3', Arvind D-9', 21', 34', 60'+2')
• 21-06-2016: Konkan W/O Active Union
  Konkan got walk over as Active Union did not turn up  
• 25-06-2016: Konkan 0 Vs Bangalore Warriors 1 (Rajesh–1')

Group M 

SUNE SA enters the know out stage from this group

• 15-06-2016: Ambedkar 1 (Rahul-22') Vs Thamarai Kannan 0  
• 15-06-2016: Bangalore Blues 0 Vs Sunesa 3 (Nishanth-10', Saif-17', Ahamed-14') 
• 18-06-2016: Bharath Matha 1 (Upendra-18') Vs Bangalore Blues 2 (Pradeep-15', Thomas-41')  
• 18-06-2016: Sunesa 1 (Ahamed-10') Vs Ambedkar 1 (Rahul-7) 
• 19-06-2016: Bangalore Warriors W/O Bagalkunte
  Bangalore Warriors got walk over as  Bagalkunte did not turn up 
• 21-06-2016: Bharath Matha 0 Vs Thamarai Kannan 4 (Arvind-27', 39', Kaneyan-42', Suresh Kumar-48') 
• 22-06-2016: Ambedkar 5 (Rahul-15', 58', Mikhil-39', Prakash–43', Shyam-52'[OG] Vs Bangalore Blues 0  
• 23-06-2016: Sunesa 7 (Rakesh-6', Nishanth-8', 20', Ahmed-20', 47', Saifulla-23', 42') Vs Bharath Matha 0 
• 25-06-2016: Sunesa 2 (Ganesh-24' Ahmed-32') Vs Thamarai Kannan 1 (Kishhakaran-55')
• 25-06-2016: Ambedkar 5 (Nikhil-22', 28', 33', 41', Bhaskaran-58') Vs Bharath Matha 0 
• 27-06-2016: Thamarai Kannan W/O Bangalore Blues 

Group L 

• 4-06-2016: Hindu Socials 3 (Inderjith-39', 60'+1', Sukruth-60') Vs Shinning Stars 2 (Jamil-19', Sandeep-41') 
• 4-06-2016: Goans Vs Afgan 
  Afgan got walk over as Goans did not turn up 
• 6-06-2016: Shinning Stars 0 Vs Bangalore Youngstars 3 (David-12', Suniol-18', 60')
• 6-06-2016: Afgan 2 (Satish-15', 54') Vs Hindu Socials 0 
• 8-06-2016: Afgan 1 (Karthick-49') Vs Bangalore Youngstars 2 (Tulasi Ram-10', Vinod-45') 
• 13-06-2016: Hindu Socials Vs Bangalore Youngstars
  Bangalore Youngstars got walk over as Hindu Socials did not turn up 

Group K 

• 3-06-2016: Young Boys 2 (Hemanth-9', Norbu-41') Vs Devanahalli 0 
• 4-06-2016: 515ABWS 5 (SriKumar-14', 54', Mahendrakumar-19', Ramesh Babu-32', Sreejith-43') Vs XLR8 0 
• 5-06-2016: 515ABWS 3 (Sreejeith-20', Nitesh-23', 35') Vs Gorkha Boys 1 (Thongkmojem Gangte-58') 
• 6-06-2016: Young Boys 0 Vs XLR8 5 (Ashwin-7', 11', 38', 43', Sultan-35') 
• 7-06-2016: Devanahalli 1 (Nadeem Pasha -37') Vs Gorkha Boys 3 (Donol Son-27', Ango Meto-46', 50') 
• 8-06-2016: Gorkha Boys 5 (Donalson-15', 17', 21', 30'+1', Ango Meto-25') Vs Young Boys 
• 8-06-2016: XLR8 0 Vs Devanahalli 0 
• 13-06-2016: 515ABWS 2 (Sajal Mallick-10', 16') Vs Devanahalli 0  
• 13-06-2016: Gorkha Boys 3 (Ango Meto-25'+1', Donalson-30', Danny-48') Vs XLR8 1 (Aswin-44') 

Group J 

• 3-06-2016: Koramangala 3 (Chiranjan Singh-13', Rueepsh-38', 50') Vs Muslim Heroes 0 
• 3-06-2016: ECD 1 (Abhijith-50'+1') Vs Phantom 0 
• 5-06-2016: Phantom 6 (Buluram-4', Kinley-21', 50', Jevin-31', 43', Harshith-54') Vs Reds United 0 
• 5-06-2016: Koramangala 2 (Satvir Singh-24', Sanatomba-36') Vs ECD 3 (Hasim-30'+1', Abhijith-42', Ben-57') 
• 7-06-2016: Reds United 4 (Sourabh-13', 47', Darshan-41', 50') Vs Muslim Heroes 0 
• 7-06-2016: Koramangala 2 (Kapil Bhat-31', Md. Namil-50') Vs Phantom 1 (Sang-17') 
• 9-06-2016: ECD 2 (Sreekumar-50', Skiffin K Jose-60'+2') Vs Muslim Heroes 1 (Mark-30'+1')
• 9-06-2016: Koramangala 4 (Chiranjan-27', 57, Alex-30', Rupesh-51') Vs Reds United 1 (Darshan-3') 
• 14-06-2016: ECD 5 (Jencil-9' [OG, Arun-14', 30'+1', Ashwin-29', 32') Vs Reds United 1 (Prajwal-49') 
• 14-06-2016: Phantom 9 (Alex-12', Sang-13', 38', Sam-19', 23', 40', 43', 50', Bulu Ram-24') Vs Muslim Heroes 0 

Group I 

• 27-05-2016: Bangalore Yellows 0 Vs Binny 3 (Deepan-45', 49', Jeswin-46') 
• 29-05-2016: Rangers 5 (Akasay-1', 30'+1' Jayanth-30', Nicoloas-39', Charles-46') Vs Bangalore Yellows 1 (Avinaash-43') 
• 29-05-2016: Binny 4 (Deepan-19', 55', Jeswin-31', Harish-50') Vs Young Gems 0 
• 31-05-2016: Young Gems 2 (Nithin-15', 55') Vs Rangers 1 (Akshay-27' [P]) 
• 2-06-2016: Rangers 0 Vs Binny 0 

Group H 

• 26-05-2016: Indian Institute of Science Vs East West
  East West did not turn up, match awarded to Indian Institute of Science  
• 27-05-2016: NP Kempe Gowda 0 Vs Young Muslims 3 (Nitesh-40', 51, Vishnu-55')  
• 28-05-2016: Indian Institute of Science 2 (Kiran-12' [OG], Nishank-45') Vs Sunrise 1 (James-29') 
• 30-05-2016: Sunrise 2 (Inder Kumar 50', Arun 60'+) Vs Young Mulslims 5 (Rinod-25', Nitesh-39', Morwin-40', 47', Devendra-54) 
• 31-05-2016: Indian Institute of Science 1 (Boppanna-18') Vs NP Kempe Gowda 0  
• 1-06-2016: NP Kempe Gowda 7 (Deepanjan- 2', 37', Manjunath-28', 60', 60'+1', Andrew.Jr.-50', Prajwal-60'+2') Vs  Sunrise 1 (Inder Kumar) 
• 2-06-2016: Indian Institute of Science 2 (Bopanna-3', 42') Vs Young Mulslims 4 (Nitesh-15', Rajesh-41', Srinath-60', Kumar-60'+2')

Group G 

• 26-05-2016: Blitz 7 (Rajan-2', 4', 11', Mithun-43', 45', 46', Kishore-52') Vs Excelsior 0 
• 26-05-2016: Rabbani Vs Vijayanagar 
  Vijayanagar did not turn up, match awarded to Rabbani 
• 28-05-2016: Excelsior 0 Vs Vel Social 1 (Mario-43') 
• 28-05-2016: Blitz 4 (Ranjan-8', 20', Sachin-11', Mithun-46') Vs Rabbani 0 
• 30-05-2016: Rabbani 6 (Naveen-11', Pinto-37', 45', Arvind-41, 49, Dev Kumar-42') Vs Excelsior 0 
• 30-05-2016: Vel Social 0 Vs Blitz 11 (Multan-10', 32', 40', Ashwin-15', 18', 23', 26', Ranjan-31', 51', Mithun-37', 58') 
• 1-06-2016: Vel Social 0 Vs Rabbani 6 (Arvind-11', 13', 42', Mark Stephen-20', Mahendra-36', Sathish-59')

Group F 

• 16-05-2016: La Masia 2 (Sunil-3', Samuel-4') Vs Indira Nagar 1 (Pruthvi-45')
• 16-05-2016: C2 FC 4 (Vivek Menzel-11', Yashwanth-30'+1', Aashish-57', Abhijeet-60'+1') Vs Triveni 0 
• 18-05-2016: Triveni 3 (Naveen-12', Murgan-22', Shiva-49') Vs Indiranagar 2 (Abhishek-9', Premkumar-54')
• 18-05-2016: Bangalore Gunners 3 (Praveen-9', Ruban-20', Ribin-38') Vs C2 FC 1 (Manoj-60') 
• 20-05-2016: Bangalore Gunners 2 (Ruban-30'+1', Bravin-40') Vs LA Masia 1 (Rayan-60'+1') 
• 21-05-2016: C2 FC 5 (Vivek Menzel-14', Prayag Sunder-18', Hemanth-24', Aashish Paul-30', 57') Vs Indiranagar 0 
• 23-05-2016: Bangalore Gunners 2 (Ruban-33', Sukinder-16') Vs Triveni 1 (Shivakumar-18')
• 23-05-2016: La Masia 1 Vs C2 FC 5 (Ricardo-3', 11', 23', Aashish-40', Manoj-51') 
• 24-05-2016: Triveni 1 (Murugan-35') Vs La Masia 3 (Shasidhran-18, Derrick-29', Geoffery-50')
• 24-05-2016: Indiranagar 1 (Dharshan-46') Vs Bangalore Gunners 2 (Barvin-58, Suginderan-60'+3')

Group E 

• 15-05-2016: United FA 8 (Tenzin-11', Renchin Sanpo-29', 30'+1', Hansibi-35', 38', 49', Tenzin Jugney-37', Gonpo-51') Vs Vehicles 2 (Shiva-24', 35')
• 16-05-2016: Chinnnappa Garden 1 (Harishith-54') Vs Hampi Nagar 2 (Kunal-36' [OG], Govindaraj-2')
• 17-05-2016: Vinayaka 1 (Riyazuddin-32') Vs Hampi Nagar 1 (Harshith-17') 
• 18-05-2016: Chinnappa Garden 0 Vs Vehicles 4 (Vinod-10', Shiva-19', Anbu-59', Stephen-60') 
• 19-05-2016: Hampi Nagar 2 (Vinayaka-39', 54') Vs United FA 2 (Tenzin-3', 27', 30. Hanshiba-36', Tenzin Sherab-42', 52', Tenzin Tashi-58') 
• 20-05-2016: Vinayaka 1 (Amogh-16') Vs Vehicles 8 (Shiva-27, 37, 42, Prem-39', Dhanush', 44', 45', Anbu-57', 59') 
• 21-05-2016: Chinnnappa Garden 0 Vs United FA 7 (Tenzin-11', Gonpo Dhondup-14', 31', 34', 57', 58', Hanshiba-56') 
• 23-05-2016: Hampi Nagar 0 Vs Vehicles 5 (Prem-4', Dinesh-17', 43', Shiva-58', 60')

Group D 
+ ITC have withdrawn their team from the league

• 15-05-2016: Bosch 2 (Obul Reddy-30'+1', 55') Vs JS Sports 1 (Monesh-24')
• 15-05-2016: Rebels Vs ITC
  * Rebels got walkover from ITC, as the later did not turn up, Rebels will get 3 pts + 2 goals 
• 17-05-2016: Rebels 4 (Dhanush-58', Rahul-59', Ranjan-60'+1', 60'+2') Vs Crescent 0 
• 19-05-2016: Crescent 0 Vs Bosch 6 (Aron Roy-3', 10', 39', Obul Reddy-6', 23', Vinay-40') 
• 20-05-2016: Rebels FC 1 (Ajey-13') Vs JS Sports 2 (Muan-26', Kanteerava-60'+1')
• 22-05-2016: Bosch Vs Rebels 
• 22-05-2016: Crescent 0 Vs JS Sports 4 (Sunil-18', Monish-32', 54', Ashok-52')

Group C 

• 04-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Maharaja Socials Vs Nationals
  Maharaja Socials got walk-over as Nationals did not turn up
• 04-05-2016, 4 pm, Navarathna Vs Rovers
  Rovers got walk-over as Navarathna did not turn up
• 08-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Sarvagna Nagar 1 (Rakesh-41') Vs Maharaja Socials 3 (Manju-16', Johnson-32', Omprakash-56')
• 08-05-2016, 4 pm, Rovers Vs Nationals 
• 10-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Sarvagna Nagar 1 (Yogith-14') Vs Rovers 3 (Lokesh-27', 29', Simon-44')
• 11-05-2016, 4 pm, Rovers 1 (Satish-50') Vs Maharaja Socials 1 (Johnson-18') 
• 12-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Sarvagna Nagar Vs Nationals 
• 13-05-2016, 4 pm, Nationals Vs Navarathna 13-05-2016 Fri
• 14-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Navarathna Vs Maharaja Socials 
• 14-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Rovers Vs Sarvagna Nagar

Group B 

• 03-05-2016, 4 pm, Tornados 4 (Jabbar-14', Siraj-16', 26', Junaid-30') vs Queens Stars 2 (Sachin-28', 48')  
• 04-05-2016, 1:30 pm, South India 3 (Karthick-10', Anand-25', 37') Vs Bangalore Wanderers 2 (Ravi-8', Avinash-10')
• 07-05-2016, 4 pm, Netaji 0 Vs Bangalore Wanderers 6 (Prajwal-2', 18, 4, Arun [OG-10'], Akshay-22', Mario-57')
• 08-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Queens Stars 2 (Abhishek-27', Sachin G-48') Vs South India 5 (Anand-10', 15', 16', Preetham-41', Kavi Mani-51')
• 09-05-2016, 4 pm, South India 5 (Karthick-7', Preetham-10', Anand-40', 46, Mohan-60'+1') Vs Netaji 0 
• 10-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Tornados 1 (Junaid 47') Vs Bangalore Wanderers 0 
• 11-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Netaji Vs Queens Stars
  Netaji got walk-over as Queens Stars did not turn up
• 13-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Bangalore Wanderers Vs Queens Stars 
• 13-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Tornados Vs Netaji 
• 14-05-2016, 4 pm, South India 0 Vs Tornados 4 (Shabir-22', 38', Kasim-46', 47')

 Group A 

• 03-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Sporting Youths 3 (Shivu-2', 50', Prasad-49') vs Bentex 0 
• 03-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Veterans 4 (Avinash-29', 45', Lawrence-22', Ramesh-35') Vs JJ Sports 0 
• 07-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Veterans 2 (Avinash-1', Satish Kumar-41') Vs Town SC, Hoskote 0 
• 07-05-2016, 2:45 pm, JJ Sports 3 (Silverster Steven-27', 52', Akshay-30'+2') Vs Sporting Youths 3 (Dhandu-2', Sanjay-30', Muniraj-44')
• 09-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Bentex Vs JJ Sports
  Bentex got walk-over as JJ Sports did not turn up 
• 09-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Sporting Youths 1 (Sanjay-55') Vs Town SC, Hoskote 2 (Sai Kumar-13', 60'+3')
• 10-05-2016, 4 pm, Bentex 1 (Shiva-51') Vs Veterans 4 (Mohan-11'Avinarh-29', Satishkumar-30', Ronoldo-60') 
• 11-05-2016, 1:30 pm, Town SC, Hoskote vs JJ Sports
• 12-05-2016, 2:45 pm, Veterans 5 (Satishkumar-24', 31', Avinash-35', 58', Nagaraj-59') Vs Sporting Youths 0 
• 12-05-2016, 4 pm, Bentex 2 (Shivu-5', Rahul-32') Vs Town SC, Hoskote 2 (Nagaraj-34' Gnanesh-46')

Aizwal stun Champion Bengaluru FC

AIFF Media 

Bengaluru FC Media 

Aizawl FC defeated Hero I-League Champions Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the first match of their maiden Hero Federation Cup campaign at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizwal, Mizoram today (April 30, 2016)

Joel Sunday’s 90^th minute goal proved to be the difference between the two sides after Alfred Kemah had cancelled out Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s 15^th minute goal, in the 38^th minute as both Team went into the tunnel on level pegging at half-time.  

With Aizwal FC notching up a win, the onus lies on Bengaluru FC to perform in the second leg of the fixture which is slated to kick-off on May 03, 2016.

Speaking at the Official Post Match Press Conference, Bengaluru FC’s Head Coach Ashley Westwood asserted that his side can foster a comeback in the reverse fixture, "We had several chances, and could have led by 4 goals. There is a cent percent chance that we will have a comeback and get through this round."

Meanwhile, Aizawl FC’s Head Coach Jahar Das was all smiles after upsetting the ‘Champions of India’. "We deserved this win as we played a good game. We are looking forward to the second leg and will play to the best of our abilities”

In the opening minutes of the match, it was Bengaluru FC, who nearly took the lead with some fluent attacking Football. Sunil Chhetri’s threatening corner resulted in a coming together of bodies in the Aizwal FC penalty box, but the Aizwal defence stood strong and made a goal line clearance to deny Bengaluru FC an early lead.  

In the 10^th minute, Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s brilliant free-kick was met with John Johnson’s thumping header and earned an acrobatic save by Poirei. The resulting corner saw the Bengaluru FC duo team up again and Lyngdoh’s delivery made contact with Johnson’s right boot, rattling the Aizwal FC woodwork.

Aizawl had their first proper shot minutes later when Yuta shot from 30 yards away, but the ball went over the bar. 

In the 15th minute of the match, Eugeneson Lyngdoh's shot from distance ended up in the back of the Aizawl FC net, leaving the Aizawl FC custodian wrong-footed, as Bengaluru FC took a solitary goal lead. 

Minutes later, Lalchhawnkima found a chance to score an equalizer for his team through a set piece but the away keeper Amrinder blocked the ball with great ease. 

Joel Sunday, assisted by Yuta, too made an attacking shot but the shot went over and did not challenge Amrinder. Moments later, Brandon’s curling shot went shy of the goal after he dribbled his way into the box.

Joel Sunday showed off some exquisite skills with the ball when he made his way towards the away box tricking past three Bengaluru defenders, but he failed to make an excellent finish as his shot went wide.

The attacking moves made by Aizawl FC eventually bore fruit when Alfred's shot found its mark in the 38th minute changing the scoreline to 1-1. Alfred's left foot shot assisted by Lalchhawnkima made its way into the net at the bottom corner rendering Amrinder helpless. 

Aizawl FC continued to attack and missed more chances just minutes before the first half ended with a 1-1 scoreline. 

Aizawl FC continued their momentum in the second half and the Reds fostered a goal scoring opportunity in the 48^th minute when Brandon’s cross found Albert clear of the defensive mix inside the box. The latter failed to make the most out of it as another chance went abegging.

In the 57^th minute, Udanta Singh’s rocket-of-a-shot from distance, was met with a strong fist by Poirei as Bengaluru FC continued their search for another goal.

Nine minutes later, Aizwal FC were awarded with a golden opportunity to take the lead but Alfred failed to tap the ball in, after successfully beating Amrinder Singh in a one versus one situation.

Substitute Daniel Lalhlimpuia showed his prowess on the pitch when he drove the ball into the box and prepared himself for a shot but was tackled by Emma denying him his chance. 

Not to be deterred, Aizwal FC continued their search for the winning goal and in the 90^th minute, Joel Sunday lit up the fa ces of fans in the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium as he blasted his opportunity home to make the scoreline read 2-1 in Aizwal’s favour.

The home Team held onto their solitary goal lead despite the away Team initiating raids in the remaining time and at the end of ninety minutes, the scoreline read 2-1 in Aizwal FC’s favour. 

Aizawl take on Bengaluru in first match of Hero Federation Cup 2016

AIFF Media 

Newly crowned Hero I-League Champions Bengaluru FC will clash swords against Aizawl FC in the first match of the Hero Federation Cup 2016 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl, Mizoram on April 30, 2016. The kick-off for which is at 3PM IST. 

The top eight teams of Hero I-league will be contending in the Hero Federation Cup which will see a total of 13 games. All the matches, except the Final are to be played on a two legged (home and away) knockout basis. While the Final will be played on a neutral ground. Bengaluru FC are the current holders of the Federation Cup having beaten Dempo 2-1 in the 2015 Final which was played at Margao, Goa.  

In the Official Pre-Match Press Conference held today at Aizawl, both sides expressed their desires and intentions to win in the match tomorrow. Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood said, "We have been fairly consistent this season and we hope to carry it into the Hero Federation Cup. We could not train as much as we would like to today after our long journey yesterday but we will play to win tomorrow." 

Commenting on Aizawl FC, Westwood stated "Aizawl are a good team, it was sad to see to see them go out. They were a fresh team that showed excitement and did not deserve to be relegated."

Seminlen Doungel, the Manipuri striker, emphasized on the desire of his team to win and said, "I am very excited about our match with Aizawl tomorrow, we will try our best to win." He also admitted that  knock-out matches could be more difficult than league matches. 

Aizawl FC coach Jahar Das stated that his side could create an upset come tomorrow. "We were not the last team in the Hero I-League, and we were able to beat Mohun Bagan who were at the top, we can win tomorrow.We have an advantage over them as they are a little tired, it will be difficult for them to hold us tomorrow." 

"It was a difficult time for us when we heard that we have relegated. But now, we have to opportunity to play against the champions. They are the best team as of now and have been playing other tournaments like the AFC so that might work to our advantage", informed Aizwal FC's midfielder Albert Zohmingmawia.

In their two Hero I-League matches against each other, Aizawl FC suffered two defeats conceding one goal in each match without scoring against Bengaluru FC, however a new day beckons tomorrow and who knows, maybe Aizawl FC can create an upset by defeating 'Champions of India' Bengaluru FC.