Preview: Bengaluru FC looks to tame Tampines Rovers for semis berth

by Chittu Shetty September 21, 2016

I-League champions Bengaluru FC are on the verge of their first ever AFC Cup semi-final appearance as they get ready for the second leg.

Bengaluru FC will look to maneuver through a tricky tie as they gear up to face Tampines Rovers in an Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Cup quarter-final second-leg, on Wednesday.

The S-league team trails the visiting side by a goal on aggregate, after surrendering to a C K Vineeth seventh minute strike in the first-leg close door affair at Bangalore.

Bengaluru FC, under new Coach Albert Roca, will have to be careful of their opponent in their own den. The I league champions created a new style of game play with more possession based ground football. Sticking to their coach’s plan BFC produced a gritty display to grind out a 1-0 victory and the gaffer will be expecting nothing less from them in the return leg.

“The second leg will be a challenge because we only scored one goal in the first leg. The humidity makes things difficult, so we try not to lose too much energy. I am confident of us adapting to the surface at Jalan Besar. Tampines will look to make things difficult in a bid to reverse the situation. But we have to be prepared for that,” Roca said

Tampines Coach acknowledged the pressure on his side to defeat the Indian champions, but seemed confident about his player’s ability, “The pressure is always there, no matter how much we say it isn’t. We need to step things up from the start and should not make the mistake of taking Bengaluru lightly; it will be an uphill task for us if Bengaluru score an away goal. Even though we are under pressure, we have to go all out and stay composed” he said

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BFC will be expected to have little tweaks in its team with L fanai probably replacing Nishu Kumar, who looked little nervous in the first encounter. Rino anto, John Johnson and the new Spanish import Juan Gonzalez will join fanai in the defense, in front of Amrinder singh.

Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Alvaro Rubio and Austrailian Cameron Watson are expected to control BFC’s midfield with Alwyn George and Sunil Chhetri falling back occasionally from their forward duties to control ball possessions. CK Vineeth will be once again carrying the striker duty upfront with support from Chhetri and Alwyn in between. Udanta singh, who played as a substitute in the first leg could once again be brought as a sub in the second half.

BFC will be expected to play 4-3-3 formation with occasional packed-in midfield 4-5-1 to control possession.

Tampines Rovers will be without their injured skipper Fahrudin Mustafic. The trio of Jermaine Pennant, Jordan Webb and Billy Mehmet will be expected to trouble the Bengaluru defense for goals. Yasir Hanapi is expected to control central midfield.

Bengaluru FC will have to be cautious in their game play as Tampine will be expected to come out all guns blazing as they take field for the second leg of the AFC cup quarterfinal tie.

Kickoff: 5 PM IST