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.

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.

Real Kashmir emerge champion to win ticket to I-League

AIFF Media

Real Kashmir FC secured promotion to the Hero I-League after clinching the 2017/18 Hero 2nd Division League title today evening.

David Robertson’s side only needed a point to win the title and promotion on the final day of the Hero 2nd Division League season, but the men from earth’s heaven produced a clinically efficient performance to blank Hindustan FC 3-2 at the FSV Arena in Bengaluru.

Real Kashmir scored through Ifham Tariq Mir (22′), Danish Farooq (42′) and Nadong Bhutia (67′) while Kushant Chauhan (34′ & 80′) was on target for Hindustan FC.

Hindustan FC started the match like a house on fire as they took the game to Real Kashmir. Hindustan FC created the first threat in the 17th minute when Nikhil Gehlot delivered a free-kick into the box, but Pawan Pratap Singh was unable to hit the target with his header.

That proved to be a costly miss as Real Kashmir took the lead five minutes later through Ifham, who collected a pass from Danish before calmly slotting past Mithun Samonto.

Hindustan FC then came close to levelling matters in the 28th minute when Loveday Enyinnaya lost possession inside the box, but Kushant’s shot went wide of the target.

Kushant, however, redeemed himself by scoring the equalizer in the 34th minute. The striker latched onto a loose ball in the box following a neat interchange of passing with Nikhil, to slot his shot into the top left-hand corner.

Nonetheless, Real Kashmir restored their lead three minutes before half-time when a swift counter-attacking move allowed Danish the easiest of tap-ins.

Real Kashmir had further chances to add to their tally in stoppage time, but they failed to do so as they first-half ended 2-1.

The second-half saw Real Kashmir on the ascendancy from the very beginning, and unlike the first-half where they sat back and allowed Hindustan FC to play, The Kashmir side opted for a more aggressive attacking game which made them more dangerous.

However, the first clear chance of the half would go Hindustan FC’s way as Kushant almost scored an identical goal as in the first when once again he was left unmarked in the box, to shot towards goal. Fortunately this time for Real Kashmir, keeper Sukhwinder Singh was well positioned to make a save.

Real Kashmir, on the other end, continued to dominate and create chances, the best of which saw Yao Kouassi Bernard put the ball just wide of the target 12 minutes after the restart.

Midway through the second-half Real Kashmir blew yet another opportunity when Danish put Ritwick Kumar Das in space in the penalty area, but the midfielder took too long to get a shot away and was closed down by Cheick Hamza Bamba. Ritwik looked threatening all evening and gave the Hindustan FC defence a torrid time.

Real Kashmir, thereafter, continued to run rings around their opponents and made it 3-1 in the 67th minute when Nadong, who came in as a substitute, scored from Ifham’s point-perfect pass.

Meanwhile, Hindustan FC, went all out in the final quarter and were also rewarded with a goal in the 80th-minute courtesy Kushant, but that was all they could manage as Real Kashmir thereafter managed to hold on to secure promotion in Hero I-League.