Bengaluru begin Fedration Cup quest with Lajong test

Bengaluru FC Media 

Albert Roca asked his Bengaluru FC side to brush aside the hurdles of a packed schedule and humid weather conditions and train their focus on chasing Federation Cup glory as the Blues open their campaign with a clash against Shillong Lajong at the Barabati Stadium, on Monday.

Stacked alongside reigning champions Mohun Bagan, DSK Shivajians and Lajong in Group B, Bengaluru have been building an impressive momentum ahead of the competition that guarantees the winner a slot in the AFC Cup. “We ended the League season on a good note and except the blip in Dhaka, we’ve done well in the AFC Cup too where our fate is firmly in our hands. Surely, the Federation Cup will be a whole new ball game but we’ve been doing things correctly and if we can manage the situation of the schedule and the heat, we should be alright,” said Roca on the eve of the game.

The Blues have been buoyed by the arrival of striker Cornell Glen who joined the squad in Cuttack after a week of working on his fitness in Bengaluru. Incidentally, Glen has previously turned out for Lajong and Bagan and it needs to be seen the role Roca hands him in the tournament.

Bengaluru, who did the double over Lajong in the League this season, have faced the side from the hills just once in this competition previously and came away 1-0 winners on their way to lifting the title in 2016. “We’ve beaten Lajong twice this season but this competition a clean slate for everyone and the margin for error is very less. Two good weeks of football and you could be representing the country in Asia which is going to give belief to every team in this competition. It’s going to boil down to how clinically we take our chances,” added Roca.

Two sides from each group of the Federation Cup qualify for the semifinals while the Blues will have an extra game to play as they face Mohun Bagan in an AFC Cup Group clash on the 17^th.

The match between the Bengaluru and Lajong FC kicks off at 4 pm and will be telecast live on Ten 2.

Bengaluru FC sign striker Cornell Glen

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC on Monday announced the signing of striker Cornell Glen on loan until the end of the season from local side Ozone FC Bengaluru. The signing adds firepower to the Blues’ strike-force ahead of the club’s 2017 Federation Cup campaign with Serbian striker Marjan Jugovic set to miss out with injury.

Unavailable for Bengaluru’s AFC Cup games as per regulations set by the Asian Football Confederation, Glen has previously turned up for Shillong Lajong in the I-League, scoring 30 goals in 38 appearances for the Northeast outfit before loan moves to ISL side NorthEast United and Mohun Bagan. He most recently represented Ozone FC in the BDFA Super Division, though his 2nd Division I-League campaign was cut short by an injury suffered on international duty earlier this year.

“It’s an honour to be a part of such a big club. I see Bengaluru FC as arguably the biggest club in India. It’s a club that aspires to win championships and I am happy to be a part of that. Since I’ve been in India, I’ve always played to win games and that’s exactly what I intend to do here. I have a quality team around me with a very good coach and I’m looking forward to it,” said Glen, who will wear number 9 for the Blues.

The Trinidad and Tobago World Cupper replaces Serbian Marjan Jugovic on the Blues’ roster for the Federation Cup after the latter suffered a torn meniscus in training last month and continues to recover following a successful surgery. Blues’ boss Albert Roca was full of praise for 35-year-old Glen, who has represented his country on 71 occasions, scoring 24 goals.

“It’s unfortunate that we lost Marjan just as he was regaining his fitness and scoring goals, but in Cornell we have an able replacement and someone who has plenty of experience playing in India. We saw him against us in pre-season for Ozone FC and we know what he is capable of. His presence in the squad will be important as we look to put out good performances in the Federation Cup,” said Blues’ boss Albert Roca.

The Blues face Abahani Limited Dhaka in the AFC Cup on Wednesday, a fixture Glen will play no part in, before their trip to face Shillong Lajong in the opening match of the 2017 Federation Cup, at the Barabati Stadium, in Cuttack, on May 8th.

Former India international Deepak Mondal joins Ozone, team to play in DSK Cup

In order to bolster defence, BDFA Super Division champion Ozone FC Bengaluru has roped in the dependable Deepak Mondal. A cadet of the Tata Football Academy batch of 1998, Mondal played for the senior national team for 12 years. This will be his 19th season in the domestic scene. Deepak played for East Bengal in the previous season. 

He’s is currently in Pune where Ozone is participating in DSK Cup. Speaking exclusively with GCSStars.com, humble Mondal said he has nothing to prove, especially after playing at the top-level for almost two decade. 

“I love the game, I am a professional player. Ozone is a new team, they’ve made a strong team this year, liked their professional approach. Should be good fun!” added the veteran. 

Ozone kick-off DSK Cup on Thursday

Ozone FC Bengaluru will be travelling to Pune to participate in the third edition of DSK Cup which is starting from tomorrow. 12 teams are divided in 4 groups, Ozone is placed in Group D along with local outfit Deccan Rovers and Salgaocar. 

Ozone’s first match is against Deccan Rovers on November 10 and the last match of the group against Salgaocar on November 14. 

Two teams from each group will at play the knock-out stage. 

Ozone win friendly against Bengaluru FC

In a friendly played between the top two teams from the Garden City on Sunday morning, Ozone FC got the better of Bengaluru FC by one goal. Satish Kumar scored a brilliant goal from an Anto Xavier assist. 

With Bengaluru FC scheduled to play AFC Cup Quarterfinal against Tampins Rovers on September 14, they too wanted to get some good match practice. Over past few weeks the Steelmen played friendlies against couple of Army teams and DSK Shivajians. 
Albert Roca  fielded a full-strength team with captain Chhetri, medio Eugenseon, and three foreigners John Johnson, Álvaro Rubio, and Cameron Watson. 

Ozone have built a strong team this season. They’ve strengthened their squad with several I-League players with World Cupper Cornell Glenn scheduled to join in few weeks’ time. 


Starting lineup 

Ozone FCB: Nikhil, Collin, Shrikant, Chika Wali, Vivek, Dhanachandra, Arun, Vignesh, Anto Xavier, Satish Kumar, Sabeeth. Subs prateek, Vignesh, Sam, Pradeep 

Bengaluru FC: Lalthuammawia, Rino Anto, Fanai, John Johnson, Guru, Alwyn George, Álvaro Rubio, Cameron Watson, Eugeneson, Sunil Chhetri, Daniel Lalhlimpuia 

Cornell Glen joins Ozone Bengaluru

Few weeks back we posted on our FaceBook Page highlighting Ozone Football Club Bengaluru’s intention to create a strong team. They already had players with I-League experience in Subodh Kumar (East Bengal), Sabeeth (Mohun Bagan), Justin Sthepen (Mumbai FC). Also talked about getting few quality foreigners. 

This time the big catch is 2006 FIFA World Cupper from Trinidad and Tobago striker Cornell Glen. Though Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup, he appeared in all three games in the group league stage and almost scored against Sweden in his World Cup debut match. 

Glen has played four seasons in the Indian soil scoring 41 goals. In the last season he moved out from Shillong Lajong to Mohun Bagan. 

Glen is like to join the squad next month, his signing is surely going to make a huge splash in Bangalore Football!