Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani Limited will be looking forward to restore some of their lost pride as they take on Bengaluru FC in the group E match of AFC Cup scheduled to be held today at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city.
The match kicks off at 6.10 pm.
Addressing at a pre match press conference on Tuesday at conference room of Bangladesh Football Federation, Bengaluru Spanish coach Alberto Roca Pujol however categorically admitted that the match would going to be a tough one for them, according to BFF websites.
“Bengaluru has arrived at Dhaka to win the game. In the last match, we played well and deserved to win ….but here in Dhaka tomorrow, it would be a different story.
“Abahani is a good team and we know they will be eager to win the match. We have enough information on them and we are ready to face the challenge. We will be giving our best. We rested some of our key players in the last league match as we want to start afresh. It is always difficult to win away matches”.
Roca said there is no room of complacency as his team sit at top of the table with maximum nine points. “We are taking Abahani seriously and we are not having any complacency. Winning tomorrow will be a boost us for the next stage of the competition.
“We have won the last six games and we want to keep the success spree continuing, he added” “We don’t have any serious injuries. We have a big squad to make up the vacuum, if there is any.
Marjan Jugovic’s injury will not be a matter. I am convinced and faithful with my Indian forwards also,” he told further.
On the other hand, Drago Mamic, the Serbian coach of Abahani, said that his team are standing at the point of no return. “We have played two away and one home matches and lost them all. Now, we stand at the point of no return. We are now on an obligation of winning a match and maybe it is tomorrow.
“We will try with all our efforts to win the match.” “But at the same time, after playing three matches, I have to admit that Abahani is not fit to fulfill the requirements of a tournament like the AFC Cup at the moment.
Our opponents have already played 18 to 19 matches where we have played only three. With only two months preparation, you can’t expect Abahani to be at their best. Bengaluru, I think is one of the best clubs in Asia but we are focused to win the match tomorrow (Wednesday),” added Mamic.
Mamic thought that Abahani felled victim of a poor decision. “In the last match, the result was 2-0 but I think it was 1-0 as the ball did not cross the goal-line on the second occasion. I want to field my team without any pressure.
The last result maybe was a little frustrating but not disappointing. We want to show our prowess tomorrow. We welcome Samad Yusuf back in the eleven as he missed the last match against Bengaluru due to visa complicacies,” concluded Mamic.
