Bengaluru to conclude AFC Cup campaign with clash against Maziya S&RC

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC will look to end their AFC Cup campaign on a good note when they take on Maldivian side Maziya S&RC at the National Stadium, in Male, on Tuesday. Although both sides are out of the running for the knockout stages of the competition, there’s much to play for with a win potentially lifting the Blues to second place on the group, while defeat will mean a bottom-placed finish.

“It’s true that Maziya have played two games and lost both, but we need to respect them as a team. We need to focus on our style and do our best against them. From the game against Tribhuvan Army FC in April to the one against Bashundhara Kings on Saturday, we have made several steps forward. Ours is a young team and we are looking to progress with each game we play,” Pezzaiuoli said.

The Blues fell 2-0 to Mohun Bagan in their opening group stage clash before a goalless draw against Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings on Saturday. Despite the stalemate confirming their elimination from the tournament, Pezzaiuoli maintained that his side were eager to finish on a high.

“In football it’s not always about winning. Yes, we wanted to do well in the AFC Cup but it wasn’t to be. It was tough to accept, but we trained this morning and I saw good team spirit and mentality from my players. We are eager to do well and finish on a good note against Maziya,” the Italian added.

The Blues’ boss confirmed that winger Ashique Kuruniyan would continue to miss out, having suffered an ankle injury in their playoff clash against Club Eagles. In a bid to give minutes to different players across positions, Pezzaiuoli handed debuts to summer signings Danish Farooq, Bidyashagar Singh, Rohit Kumar, Jayesh Rane, Alan Costa and Sarthak Golui in the first two group stage games. B Team graduate Sivasakthi Narayanan also clocked his first minutes for the senior team. 

Maziya, who began their AFC Cup group stage with a 2-0 loss to Bashundhara Kings, fell 3-1 to Mohun Bagan on Saturday, confirming their elimination from the tournament. The Blues have faced Maziya six times in the AFC Cup, winning on four occasions, and losing twice.

Kick-off at the National Stadium, in Male, is scheduled for 9.30 pm IST and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports Network, Disney+Hotstar and JioTV.

Bengaluru bow out of AFC Cup with a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings

Bengaluru FC Media 

Marco Pezzaiuoli’s Bengaluru FC side bowed out of the reckoning in the group stages of the 2021 AFC Cup, following a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings, at the National Stadium in Male, on Saturday. The result meant the Blues stayed third in Group D with one point, while Bashundhara climbed to the top with four points, ahead of ATK Mohun Bagan’s late clash against Maziya S&RC.

Pezzaiuoli made three changes to the team that faced ATK Mohun Bagan, with Parag Shrivas, Danish Farooq and Bidyashagar Singh replacing Sarthak Golui, Ajay Chhetri and Udanta Singh. At the other end, Oscar Bruzon fielded an unchanged side from Bashundhara's 2-0 win over Maziya S&RC.

The Blues started the game on the front foot, and the first good chance came with just five minutes on the clock when Danish's lob picked out Bidyashagar's run, and the youngster's shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Bashundhara skipper Topu Barman. Jayesh Rane's effort from the rebound rolled wide.

Bashundhara won a free-kick on the edge of the box in the 15th minute after Danish tripped Barman, but Suresh intercepted Robinho's pass and made sure the set piece came to nothing. Naorem Roshan Singh’s long diagonal in the 21st minute found Cleiton Silva, but the Brazilian’s attempted give and go with Bidyashagar found the winger crowded out by the Bashundhara defence. From that move, the Bangladesh side went on a counter-attack that forced Musavu-King into a tackle that saw him pick up the game’s first yellow card.

Three minutes later, Cleiton’s ball into the box was met by a diving Yrondu Musavu-King, whose header was straight into Bashundhara ’keeper Anisur Rahman’s gloves. At the other end, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu did well to get his palms to Jonathan Reis’ effort from well outside the box, to push away Bashundhara’s hopes of a first half goal.

On the stroke of halftime, Pezzaiuoli made the first substitution of the game, bringing on Sarthak in place of Parag. The Blues then had the final chance before the break, when Tariq Raihan Kazi tugged Cleiton back to give away a freekick and pick up a yellow card. The Brazilian’s effort was blocked and Bidyashagar’s shot from the rebound sailed high and wide.

Bashundhara made a change of their own on the other side of the break as Mohammad Ibrahim replaced Mahbubur Rahman. The visitors came close to taking the lead in the 57th minute through Brazilian winger Robinho, whose effort deflected off Gurpreet’s foot and was sailing goalward until Roshan cleared with an acrobatic effort. The ball almost spun back in before Gurpreet pushed away with an outstretched arm.

Attacking with intent, the Blues came close on several occasions. Cleiton skipped past his marker in the 72nd minute and saw his low cross was blocked by Topu. Only minutes later, Alan Costa’s header from Cleiton’s corner deflected off the underside of the bar and bounced on the goal line, before ’keeper Anisur managed to collect.

The Blues had a flurry of late chances as they looked to break the deadlock, with Cleiton involved in the thick of things. The Brazilian’s deflected shot was pushed away by Anisur in the 82nd minute, and Chhetri was first to get the rebound. With the ’keeper off his line, Chhetri found Rane unmarked, but the midfielder’s effort was blocked by Topu. Minutes later, Leon tried to turn Kazi in the box but the defender stood his ground and did enough to block the winger’s attempted shot.

Pezzaiuoli’s final throw of the dice saw B-Team graduate Sivasakthi Narayanan make his debut, replacing Suresh, but it wasn’t enough as both sides took a point each in their penultimate group stage game. 

The Blues will be back in action on August 24, at the same venue, when they take on Maziya S&RC in their final Group D game.

All to play for as Bengaluru face Bashundhara Kings in Malé

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC Head Coach Marco Pezzaiuoli maintained there was no pressure on his side as they prepare to face Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings, in their penultimate Group D clash of the 2021 AFC Cup, on Saturday. Kings, who ran out 2-0 winners against Maziya S&RC in their first group stage game, will be eager to get the better of the Blues, who went down to Mohun Bagan by the same scoreline.

An own-goal from Mohammed Irufaan, followed by a strike from Brazilian winger Robinho, sealed three points for Oscar Bruzon’s side in their opening clash against Maziya S&RC. Speaking to the press ahead of the encounter, Blues’ boss Pezzaiuoli said the Bangladeshi side were a force to reckon with, having made light work of their League campaign, which they secured with four games left to play.

“We're up against a team from Bangladesh that scored 55 goals in the League and are champions. They conceded only nine goals in the League, and won their first group game 2-0. They score a lot of goals and have a strong defence, are compact at the back and counter very well. We might have to change things a little bit because this is our third game. Our plan will be to maybe go backwards a bit and create space behind them to score goals and create chances,” said Pezzaiuoli.

Bashundhara, who made their AFC Cup debut last season in a campaign that was cut short due to the COVID19 pandemic, retained the 2020-21 Bangladesh Federation Cup in January. Pezzaiuoli handed starts to Ajay Chhetri and Naorem Roshan Singh in the clash against Mohun Bagan, while Leon Augustine, Parag Shrivas and Ajith Kumar came off the bench in addition to summer signings Bidyashagar Singh and Danish Farooq.

“In life you cannot be negative. I choose to take the positives from the previous game where we had almost 70% ball possession against Mohun Bagan. I think we only need to improve in certain aspects. There is no pressure. Football is not about pressure. We enjoy the games, and I am sure every team wants to be the number one in the Group. We want to win, and so do Bashundhara Kings. We have worked hard in training, and focused on certain things. We want to better our free-kicks and corners, and create better chances and finish them,” Pezzaiuoli added.

Having made several new foreign signings in Raul Becerra, Jonathan Fernandes, Khaled Shafiei and Robinho (on loan from Fluminense), the Blues will have to be wary of Bashundhara Kings’ attack, with the BPL side scoring as many as 67 goals in all competitions this season.

Kick off between the Blues and Bashundhara Kings at the National Stadium is scheduled for 4.30 pm IST, and will be telecast live on the STAR Sports network, Hotstar and JioTV.