e_Paper, Wednesday, May 3, 2017

DT
18
Sports
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017
WHAT THEY SAID
Drago Mamic, Abahani head coach
This is normal. We can't be leader of the group and
move to next stage. We must fight every game and
show people that we are improving and one day we
will come in the same level. This is our second match
at home so it is our obligation to give our maximum
and try all our powerful weapon to push for a win.
We are trying with all our best. But it is the kind of
competition that requires much more preparation.
We are in a group with Bengaluru who are one of the
best Asian clubs. That’s why I was not disappointed.
Only I will be disappointed if I see players don’t give
their 100%.
Alberto Roca, Bengaluru head coach
It’s always difficult to win away. Now in football, the
distance between the teams is not so big. We have to
be ready for that. Our expectation in this tournament
is very high because we reached the final last year.
[Today] is an important game. If we win [today] we
have the possibility to shift to the next stage. It will
be a completely a different game than the one in
Bangalore.
Mamum Miah, Abahani captain
The situation we are now in is like there is no return. At
this moment, we have nothing to lose. We will try to
give our best and win the game. We have to take reality
into consideration. We have nothing much to do in AFC
Cup. We have Federation Cup ahead and now we have
to give more focus on that. As we will represent the
country in AFC Cup, we have to give our best and if we
win the game, we may win the other two.
Bengaluru’s Sunil Chhetri controls the ball during training at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MD MANIK
Abahani targeting first points in Bengaluru clash
• Shishir Hoque
With the mindset of nothing to
lose, Bangladesh champion Dhaka
Abahani Limited will be looking
to bounce back from their losing
streak when they host Indian
champion Bengaluru FC in their
fourth match of the AFC Cup at
Bangabandhu National Stadium today
at 6:10pm.
Abahani have almost no hope
of advancing to the knockout stage
after conceding three straight defeats
and today's clash against the
reigning AFC Cup runners-up will
only be a mere formality for the Sky
Blues. Even a draw will see the Sky
Blues exit the tournament officially
but it will give the Dhaka giant
their first point in the group stage
and a slice of confidence ahead of
their first professional tournament
– the Federation Cup – that kicks off
on May 13.
The transfer window of the
Bangladesh Premier League closed
on Sunday. With almost half of the
squad’s key players leaving the club
and replacements arriving in the
last moment, Abahani are still in
transition and currently struggling
at the bottom of Group E without a
single point.
Bengaluru, in contrast, are
marching confidently towards
the knockout stage as they sit
comfortably at the top of the
table with nine points. While
Abahani were sitting idle in the
last four months, Bengaluru are
going through busy times due to
domestic fixtures. Since the first
leg between the two sides on April
18, that Bengaluru won 2-0, the
Indian outfit played two matches
in the Indian League, winning 7-0
and 3-0.
Abahani had to travel with only
two foreign players in their last two
matches due to visa complication
of 37-year-old Samad Yussif but
this time around, they will have the
service of the veteran Ghanaian at
the heart of the defence, along with
Emeka Darlington and Jonathan
David Brown upfront.
Welshman Jonathan was kept
out of the squad for the upcoming
premier league season on the
transfer deadline day to make way
for Gambian midfielder Landing
Darboe, who is ineligible to play in
the AFC Cup. The Welsh forward is
still in the club only to play in the
AFC Cup.
Abahani head coach Drago
Mamic has another good news
in the shape of midfielder Emon
Babu, who has recovered from
long-term injury.
“Emon is back in midfield. We
have three foreign players in the
squad after two matches. Samad
will also be here. We will be more
competitive. Every player's fitness
is improving. We have to be
more clinical and not make same
mistakes which we repeated in
the last games. Then we can make
positive result,” said Mamic.
“For sure we can make some
surprising results but we can’t have
continuity of good results at this
stage. This team is a new one. We
Abahani captain Mamun Miah shakes hands with his Bengaluru counterpart at BFF
House yesterday MD MANIK
lost at least 10 players from last
year and collected replacements
just two months ago,” added the
Croatian.
Having only been established
three years ago, Bengaluru, who
already won two Indian top-flight
titles, will be playing in Dhaka
for the first time. The club have
won their last six matches in all
competitions scoring 16 goals but
their Spanish coach Alberto Roca
Pujol expects it to be a different
encounter compared to the home
leg.
“It will not be same here. It
would be tough here because
Abahani are a good team and will
try to put us in trouble. My players
know about it and their ability.
We are fully convinced. If we do
things well, we can have good
result even here,” said Alberto,
adding that they have to play
three matches in six days starting
next weekend.
Bengaluru rested some key
players in their last league match
against Churchill Brothers, including
star captain Sunil Chhetri and
defender Nishu Kumar, who scored
against Abahani. They are likely
to return but the visiting side will
be without injured Serbian striker
Marjan Jugovic.
Alberto said, “we have enough
depth in squad to compete.” •