Bengaluru take on Pune in away encounter

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru gaffer Ashley Westwood said he expects nothing short of a game at full throttle when Bengaluru FC take on Pune FC at the Balewadi Stadium, in Pune, on Tuesday. Sitting fourth on the table with a point and a game behind Pune, Bengaluru will look to notch their first win in the city as the race to the title picks up pace. 

The Blues are unbeaten in six games across competitions and while some results may not have gone his team’s way, Westwood is pleased with the performances being dished out. “We are looking forward to the game against Pune and like I’ve said at most press conferences before a game, we are in good form. We’ve never seen a bad patch at the club which is a testament of the effort the boys are putting in. As for Tuesday, Pune will feel they have a chance just like us and I expect a good game that will see both teams go full throttle at each other,” said the gaffer on the eve of the game.

Bengaluru come into the game on the back of a 1-0 win over Warriors FC in the AFC Cup that saw the Blues put on a commanding show in Singapore. Pune, meanwhile, are fresh from a 2-1 win over Dempo in Goa. However, both teams will be without key players owing to suspensions. His injury time sending off against Mumbai FC means Robin Singh won’t have any part to play on Tuesday while striker Darko Nikac and midfielder Dhanpal Ganesh will be missing in action for the hosts.

Quizzed whether Robin’s absence will be a major setback given the form the striker has been going through (4 goals in five games), Westwood begged to differ. “We have a suspension in Robin but as do Pune FC. However, I don’t see that as a negative for us because it is a great opportunity for someone else to step up and prove a point.”

Both teams will also look at the game as the best possible chance to catch up with leaders Mohun Bagan who conceded twice in four minutes against Royal Wahingdoh and in going down 3-2, suffered their first defeat of the season.

Bengaluru and Pune met early in the season in Bengaluru where Pune came away 3-1 winners and Westwood said the boys will do all they can to reverse the result. “Looking back on the game, we had an off day. But even in having an off day, we had far more possession, passes and shots on goal than them – 17 to their 4 to be precise. And on Tuesday, we will be doing our best to reverse the result knowing Pune will be coming for the win too. It’s all set up for a thrilling encounter,” said Westwood.

The game kicks off at 7 pm. 

Pune and Bengaluru FC are the examples to follow in Indian Football: Kareem

Round 2 and the clash is between India’s two most professional clubs – Bengaluru FC (BFC) and Pune FC (PFC). Though both teams have failed to register a win in round 1, bet they are looking to win this game in the Hero I-League campaign!

Needless to say both teams are well prepared in this season, they played against each other few weeks ago during the Hero Federation Cup semifinal, where Bengaluru got the better of Pune in a hard fought battle. The former went on winning the cup.   

PFC has always been a tough opposition for BFC, they could not get past PFC in the last edition of I-League. Though BFC coach Ashley Westwood looked quite content with a draw against Dempo last week, he too is looking for a win.  

Westwood said, “We play every game to win, obviously PFC is a strong team, even they too play to win. Finally it would all come to who got the best formation and tactic in the day”. 

Pune is missing 3 players from their first squad, skipper Anas Edathodika, Prakash Thorat and Fanai Lalrempuia who were in excellent touch from the beginning of the season are out injured. 

PFC’s Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa assures, “We have 19 players in the squad, everyone is fit and in good form.” 

PFC is bolstered by two new foreign signings - striker Darko Nikač, Montenegrin international as a marquee player and Portuguese midfielder Edgar Marcelino who had plied his trade for FC Goa in the recently concluded ISL. However, Edgar seems to be a doubtful starter on Saturday delay to clearance formalities. 

Kareem trusts in the professionalism displayed by both clubs, “PFC and BFC are the examples to follow in India Football!”

The match between Bengaluru FC and Pune FC is slated to start tomorrow, Saturday, 7 PM, Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore.

Mariners host Bengaluru tomorrow

AIFF Media 

Table toppers Bengaluru FC take on Mohun Bagan in the Airtel I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday evening.

The sides played out a 1-1 draw in the opening weekend of the season back in September and the fixture was Bengaluru’s first-ever. Since then the I-League debutants have gone on to have a remarkable campaign as they are three wins away from clinching the title. All three of their remaining games are away from home.

Ashley Westwood’s side though have won their last two away matches against Kolkata opposition and the gaffer is confident going into the business end of the season.

“We got three away games which suits me, because we travel, we know where the boys are, we know what they are eating, we know what they are up to, which just makes the whole thing a bit more controlled without being a control freak if you like. We will be really focused to try and get something out of the season,” Westwood was quoted saying.

Following Salgaocar’s 2-1 win over Pune on Friday, Bengaluru’s lead at the top is now down to just one point but like them Mohun Bagan too are under pressure to get a win in order to guarantee their I-League survival.

The Mariners are currently six points clear of the drop zone but could still finish in the top half if they win their last three games. Karim Bencherifa’s side won 3-1 away at Sporting Clube two weeks ago and the Moroccan is keen on building on that impressive performance.

“Bengaluru are top because they have simply been consistent with a lot of hard work being put in by everybody at the club. We got a good result in the last match and hopefully that can push us on to finish the season on a high,” Bencherifa stated.

The subplot of this game is that Mohun Bagan could do their arch-rivals East Bengal a favour but Bengaluru will be determined to get an away victory especially after dropping points in their last two I-League outings. 

Bengaluru FC put up an impressive show, Sabeeth rescue Mohun Bagan after scoring a goal at the dying moment

If you have not followed our minute-minute live commentary, here it is for you again - http://tinyurl.com/ntzchlx 

Bengaluru FC were minutes short of crowning a fairy-tale start to their debut I-League season, but with CS Sabeeth scoring in the dying moments, Mohun Bagan neutralized a second half strike from Sean Rooney, and the visiting team shared honors with debutants Bengaluru FC in the First Round of their Airtel I-league encounter at the packed Bangalore Football Stadium today. 

It was the home team that drew first blood in the 49th minute of the match, when their Aussie striker Sean Rooney poked home against the run of play. 
And just when it looked that the home side was heading for a dream debut, CS Sabeeth spoilt the perfect party as the Bagan striker headed a ball into the Bengaluru FC net deep into second half stoppage time. 

Earlier both the teams missed one penalty each as the two teams had to be satisfied with one point each – offenders being Mohun Bagan’s Katsumi Yusa in the first half and Bengaluru FC’s Rooney post the breather, the latter ruing the chance to cap a brace for his new club. 

Despite playing their first match, it was the home side that started strongly penetrating into the Bagan box within the first five minutes of play. 

The visitors then came back strongly thanks to some brilliant ball play by Katsumi in the midfield. Despite missing the penalty early on, Bagan managed to create some chances but failed to find the back of the net. 

The closest they came to scoring in the first half apart from the penalty was in the 21st minute when Sabeeth’s shot was saved by Bengaluru FC keeper Pawan Kumar. The hosts were unlucky when John Johnson’s header hit the post in the 34th minute. 

In the second half, Bagan started showing nerves early on as they conceded the goal and then a penalty. Trailing 1-0, they pressed hard for the equalizer but were unlucky a couple of times. Katsumi hit the woodwork in the 60th and 69th minute respectively. 

Sunil Chhetri who came in as a substitute for the hosts in the second half got a great opportunity in the 83th minute, but his shot went past the goal post.  
One minute later, Siam Hangal got a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 for the hosts, but he failed to round off the goalkeeper. 

The hosts were reduced to ten men in the 90th when Thoi Singh was shown a red card following his second booking. 

Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa was happy with the result and admitted that Bengaluru FC would be the team to watch this season. “They gave a really good account of themselves and will be the team to watch. In a month you will come back and tell me that we earned a point here,” he said. 

Westwood was a bit disappointed at not having walked away with three points he thought his boys deserved. "We do feel hard done but that's how it is. We played some good football but were left to rue our finishing. The boys have worked hard all through pre-season and its showing. The crowd was fantastic today and we want them to keep backing us like the way they did," said Westwood.