Avispa Fukuoka win 2-1 over Bengaluru FC Reserves

Bengaluru FC Media

Striker Jinya Kishi scored twice as Bengaluru FC Reserves went down 2-1 to Avispa Fukuoka U18s in a friendly held at the Bangalore Football Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Saturday. Vice-captain Prashanth Kalinga’s 86th minute effort was a consolation in a clash that saw Blue Colts’ custodian Jafar Mondal named Man-of-the-match for an inspired show in goal.

The Blues started cautiously, keeping possession in midfield as Head Coach John Kenneth Raj started with Robinson Singh in midfield alongside Biswa as captain Leon Augustine and Nonganba Singh manned the flanks.

Shots from Leon and Isak Vanlalrutfela went inches wide of the target before Jafar stepped up to pull saves off strikes from Minato Kai and Kojito Omori in the first. Despite some fine build up play, both sides lacked the finishing touch required as half-time arrived with the scores unchanged.

Kenneth sent on Alwyn George on in the second half as he joined Robinson in midfield for the Blue Colts, adding more solidarity to the attack. However, it was the Japanese side that took the lead early in the second half. After a stubborn run and cross from Yuji Kitajima, Kishi found himself in space to slot home from close.

A tense final ten minutes saw BFC fight back as Lalrintluanga’s effort was saved by Ryuya before Avispa extended their lead in the 82nd. Poking past the slide of Tonmay Saha, Kishi advanced into the Blues’ area and sent his shot into the far corner to make it 2-0. 

There was to be more drama as Jafar brought down Kitajima in the area with seven minutes to play. The midfielder stepped up to take the spot-kick but Jafar was equal to it, as the scores remained level.

Refusing to back down, a short corner collected by Kalinga was curled in off the upright, as BFC cut the deficit with five minutes left to play. But it wasn't to be the comeback that the young Blues wanted as Avispa claimed the narrow victory.

“I saw a good effort from our boys today. They’ve only had a few sessions together and I’m happy with the performance they put out. Avispa were technically very good and I’m sure the boys have learned a lot from this experience,” said Kenneth following the clash.

Bengaluru FC beat India U-19 in similar margin

Bengaluru FC Media  

Goals from Len Doungel, Kim Song Yong, Sunil Chhetri, Alwyn George and CK Vineeth saw Bengaluru FC produce a dominant second half display to overcome a 1-0 deficit and register a 5-2 win over the India under-19 team in the second pre-season friendly between the two sides at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Wednesday. The Blues had beaten the under-19s with an identical scoreline at the same venue on Saturday.

The U19 side took the lead in the 37th minute and against the run of play with a deflected shot from Vinit Rai finding the net. Bengaluru’s best chance of the half came when Chhetri’s header from a Beikhokhei Beingaichho cross was tipped away by U19 ’keeper Sukhdev Patil.

Ashley Westwood rung in three changes at half time, sending on Doungel, Kim and George to add to the Blues’ attack. It didn’t take long for the substitutes to have their say with Doungel slotting home five minutes from the hour mark. A volleyed effort from Kim saw the North Korean grab his first goal for the club, giving Westwood’s men the lead just a minute later. A calm run and finish from Chhetri saw him grab his second in as many pre-season games in the 66th minute.

The under-19s reduced the deficit with Lalhlimpuia, who collected a cross from the left and found the net from close to make it 3-2. Despite the Indian Colts’ best efforts to equalize, Alwyn George rose high to head home a parry by Patil to restore the Blues’ two goal advantage. CK Vineeth then became the Blues’ fourth substitute to score on the day when he collected a pass from George to slot home and make it 5-2 to the Blues.

Bengaluru win in friendly against India under-19

BengaluruFC Media 

Goals from Sunil Chhetri, Alwyn George, NS Manju, an on-trial Ericson Lyngdoh and Robin Singh saw Bengaluru FC register a 5-2 win over the India under-19 team in a pre-season friendly played at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Saturday.  

The game, that had a sizeable crowd for a friendly and national coach Stephen Constantine in audience, saw goals from Daniel Lalhimpuia and a free-kick from Bidyananda give the under-19s a 2-1 lead at half time before a dominant second half show from the Blues.

[Pic Gallery] Pre-season friendlies - Bengaluru FC in Guangzhou, China

Pic: Bengaluru FC

BFC 0 Vs Eastern AA, Hong Kong 2 - Beikhokhei battles with an Eastern AA player

BFC 0 Vs Eastern AA, Hong Kong 2 - Rooney's run is halted by an Eastern AA defender

BFC 0 Vs Eastern AA, Hong Kong 2 -  Beikhokhei battles with an Eastern AA player

BFC 0 Vs Guangzhou R&F, China 3 -  Eugeneson tries to block a pass from a Guangzhou R&F player

 

BFC 0 Vs Guangzhou R&F, China 3 - Thoi battles for possession with a Guangzhou R&F player

BFC 0 Vs Guangzhou R&F, China 3 - Beikho vies for the ball with a Guangzhou R&F player

BFC 0 Vs Guangzhou R&F, China 3 - Thoi makes a pass under pressure from a Guangzhou R&F player

BFC 0 Vs Guangzhou R&F, China 3 - Lyngdoh attempts a pass 

[Pre-season friendlies] Bengaluru go down to Guangzhou R&F

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC ended their pre-season tour of China with a 3-0 defeat to Chinese Super League team Guangzhou R&F at the Guangzhou University Sports Complex, in Guangzhou, on Thursday. The Sven-Goran Eriksson-coached team went into half time with a 2-0 lead and put the friendly beyond doubt with a late third. 

Bengaluru came close on two occasions within a matter of minutes in the second half but Sean Rooney struck straight at the ’keeper just before CK Vineeth’s volley from an Udanta Kumam cross, came off the post. 

Just like in the game against Eastern AA, Bengaluru conceded early when striker Zhang Shao turned in the box to shoot R&F into a 4th minute lead. Ashley Westwood was forced to make an early substitution when midfielder Josh Walker had to be pulled off after landing awkwardly on his shoulder, making way for Darren Caldeira. 

The hosts went 2-0 up in the 29th minute after Guangzhou’s Zhang Yuan made most of a weak back pass, rounding ’keeper Pawan Kumar before finishing from an angle. Bengaluru FC did manage to ask the R&F defense a few questions and Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s strike from 20 yards missed the target by just a little.
Bengaluru FC stepped up their game in the second half where Westwood threw in Vineeth for Beikhokhei Beingaichho on the left. The pace on the flanks with Udanta on the right, saw Bengaluru keep the R&F defence alert.  

However, Zhang Chenlong finished matters, calmly finishing after being put through from the midfield.  

The big positive for Bengaluru was Westwood’s boys being up to the task on the physical front. The Blues’ game even drew praise from the R&F manager. “Though it was a friendly, it was a game with high intensity and that’s always good to see. I feel Bengaluru FC came strongly at us and were physically very good. It was a game we enjoyed being part of,” said Eriksson. 

Westwood said the trip was a good exercise for his team who will be vying for an AFC Champions League spot this season. “The aim of the trip was to test ourselves in Asia as we have aspirations of qualifying for the AFC Champions League. Guangzhou R&F are chasing current AFC Champions League winners Guangzhou Evergrande, in the Chinese Super League so the competition we faced doesn’t get much harder,” he said.  

The gaffer was pleased with the fight his side showed in the game against a technically superior side. “We competed hard and we matched them physically and showed them our fitness which was encouraging. We came knowing we can compete at this level. Obviously, there’s a bit of a gap in terms of technical quality and Guangzhou R&F are a few years in front of us in terms of being established. These are the kind of teams we are looking forward to competing with in the future and if we keep working hard, we definitely can compete,” said Westwood. 

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[VIDEO] India U-23 Vs Pakistan U-23 post match reactions

Pakistan U-23 - Mhuhammad Al Shamlan Mubarak



India U-23 - Wim Koevermans

India U-23 surrender meekly to Pakistan

Scoring a goal in each half, arch rivals silenced the vocal Garden City crowd on a pleasant mid-week game at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Incheon-bound India U-23 team meekly surrendered to the Pakistan U-23 team. Pakistan skipper Kaleemullah scored the forst goal from a direct free-kick in the 38thminute while the second was added by Man of the Match Saddam Hussain in the 90th minute.

India did have their chances in the first-half but a Team will always go back punished if chances are not converted when you have them. And in International Football, you don’t get them aplenty.

In the first half, inspirational Captain Sunil Chhetri was omnipresent. He was always there for support in the midfield, holding on to the ball that extra moment for his Teammates to recover and get into shape.

On two Occasions in the first half, he was the man who made the difference though it didn’t break the deadlock.

In the first instance, Chhetri, turned 360 degrees on to his left and as his marker slipped, his dipping long-ranger was fisted over by acrobatic Pakistan Goalkeeper Muzammil Hussain.

If that was the attempt, he turned provider for debutant Haokip Thonhkosiem in the 37th minute. He twirled in between his Sher Mumammad and Muhammad Bilal and set it up for Haokip. All in the clear, Haokip entered the box but his attempt was saved by Hussian. But even off the rebound, Francis Fernandes was unable to finish it off.

It was miss to repent as off the very next attack, Pakistan took the lead. Lalrindika Ralte, who with Milan Singh was regulating the midfield till then, brought down rival Captain Kaleemullah outside the box; and off the resultant free-kick, Kaleemullah bent it past Indian Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh.

Changing over, India looked ordinary. Despite trailing by a goal, there wasn’t any momentum nor urgency as Pakistan sealed the fate in the 90th minute through Saddam. In fact, had Saddam not muffed up a similar opportunity in the 80th minute where he failed to slot it past Amrinder, the scoreline would been more humiliating.

The buildup which stays the hallmark in the practice sessions was nowhere to be seen. There wasn’t much thrust, leave aside chances. The surrender was just meek. Hardly was a ball won in the midfield and a series of miss passes made it difficult to build an attack and restore parity. The performance was below par, lacklustre and disappointing.

National Coach Wim Koevermans did try a number of substitutions in the second half but it didn’t yield any result.

INDIA: Amrinder Singh; Pritam Kotal, Joyner Monte Lourenco, Sandesh Jhingan, Narayan Das; Milan Singh (D Ganesh – 76th), Lalrindika Ralte (Siam Hangal – 46th); Francis Fernandes (Seiminlen Doungel – 46th), Sunil Chhetri (Captain), Mandar Rao Desai (Clifton Dias – 67th), Haokip Thonhkosiem. 

Koevermans looking for a win

AIFF Media 

A couple of days in between and the two teams gear up once again for the second big clash. After all its India versus Pakistan and it doesn't happen every alternate day. 

Pakistan Coach Muhammad Shamlan Al-Mubarak, in the official post-match interaction after the first match had categorically mentioned that “Pakistan are confident of beating India.” 

“After the first match we have more idea about India and how they play. We feel we can script a positive result in the second match,” he maintained.
Keen to curve out a result in their favor, Pakistan had two Training Sessions in the day, one hour each both in the morning and the afternoon, while the Indian Team had an hour-long Session in the afternoon. 

“We intend to improve in our style of play in the next game,” Koevermans further informed. “The manner in which we react and behave when we have the ball and when we don’t have the ball will be significant and help us develop for the future.” 

“There has been a huge improvement in our game from day one when we all assembled in Bangalore. We had to bring the Team tactically to one platform. But at the same, there are a few things which we can do better from our first match against Koevermans Pakistan. We need to make sure that we do it better,” he opined. 

Referring to a question as to whether India are over dependent on Sunil Chhetri, uttered: “There’s no denying he scores but at the same time there are others who gets into scoring opportunities. We are paying special attention to the aspect of finishing. That’s an area of improvement for sure. Games are the test which helps us define ourselves,” he concluded. 

 “I came to know later that there were six Players who made their debut for India in the last match. It’s such a proud moment for them. I didn’t realize it but that’s never the way I select my Team. If the six played, they played because they deserved it. I’m so happy for the boys,” tells Koevermans. “It’s a match they will never forget. In fact, no Player ever forgets his first International Match. And they played in such a wonderful atmosphere. It was a full Stadium, live on National Television and it was against Pakistan,” he adds. 

“We look forward to having a full House on the morrow. And we are looking for a win.” 

Ticket sales have been brisk especially with India’s victory in the first-match. The response online has also been very positive. 

“I expect Pakistan to be competitive once again. And hopefully we get to play with 11 men for the full 90 minutes. We aim to carry on the momentum and expect for a good match,” he states. 

“This will be our 7th Match in preparation to the Incheon Asian Games. In Czech Republic we played against strong Senior Club sides and this time we are playing an U-23 National side who are also preparing for the Asian Games. We hope for it to turn out good,” he pronounces. 

For the record, Striker Robin Singh who was given marching orders for receiving his second Yellow Card in the previous match will be missing the match.

India-Pakistan friendlies: Matchday pics

Pic courtesy: AIFF Media

India-Pakistan football friendlies coming up on Sunday and Wednesday

Two international friendly matches between India and Pakistan are lined up on Sunday, August 17 and Wednesday, 20. 

Both matches are organized by the AIFF through JSW Bengaluru FC. Matches will commence at.3.30 pm, at the Bangalore Football Stadium. 

Life members of the Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) will be permitted to witness the match on presenting their life membership identity card issued by the KSFA at the entry gate.