Neroca ready to fight till the end against ‘Consistent’ Blues

by Chittu Shetty April 12, 2018

Following the last-gasp win in the AFC Cup, Bengaluru FC, who have been quite consistent with their performances this season, headed to Bhubaneswar straightway to take the fight to NEROCA FC in the Hero Super Cup quarterfinal tomorrow (April 13, 2018).

Coach informed during the press conference that the Hero ISL finalists would stick to their policy and they can’t afford to drop their levels any time. “We can’t drop our levels and have to be up there consistently. We always try to win and it’s something I try to impart to the players as well.”

On being asked which tournament is Bengaluru FC’s priority now, the Spanish coach mentioned, “All competitions are important for us, we can’t choose just one. The Super Cup is a knockout competition while the AFC Cup has multiple matches in the group stage.” Meanwhile, he added further, “We are playing two competitions simultaneously, and to achieve the goals the club wants, makes the situation tough. But we’re professionals and positive. The fact that we’re playing more competitions, shows we’re one of the top teams in the country.”

Young defender Subhasish Bose rated NEROCA FC very highly, “They are a very good team. We’ll try our best to win the match. Coach is there to plan the strategy and we’ll give our everything to execute them on the pitch.”

The Blues have set a trend of leaving it late to snatch a winner as they did in their last AFC Cup outing as well. On being asked, coach Roca explained, “We are a team that never surrenders. Even if we’re winning or trailing we never give up. That’s our philosophy. We keep fighting right till the end, and that’s probably why we get goals in the final few minutes of the game.”

On the other hand, NEROCA FC are coming from a terrific win against Kerala Blasters FC but coach Gift Raikhan mentioned that they were ‘lucky’ to clinch the win and they’ve to fight more to stage another win tomorrow. “We were lucky against Kerala Blasters to come back from 2-goal down and winning it till the end. Another challenging match awaits us tomorrow. Bengaluru FC are a very tough side and we respect them a lot. We need to keep on fighting. Football is all about giving 100% effort and the performance on the pitch. We are ready for the match”, Raikhan mentioned.

On being asked whether the Oranges have any strategy against the deadly attacking line-up comprising of Miku and Sunil Chhetri, skipper Lalit Thapa said, “They have a good combination and they attack collectively. Sunil is one of the best players now and obviously, we are taking them very seriously. We have to have a meticulous plan to defend them from scoring.”

“We have plans for the entire team. We don’t need to talk much about that, we just want to give our 100% effort on the pitch.” Coach Gift Raikhan promised that they would continue to fight until the final whistle and his boys won’t give up before that. “We are very motivated and pumped up. It’s a lifetime opportunity for the young boys to prove themselves. We’re looking to the tournament as a stepping stone to the professional Football.”

“We don’t have any control on the result. But we would like to grab this opportunity with both hands. We can’t promise that we’ll win. We are a human being only but not the God. What we can only promise that even if we concede goals, we’ll not drop our shoulders and continue fighting until the end. My boys will sweat blood on the field to garner another win”, coach Raikhan signed off with a strong statement.

– Courtesy AIFF media

Also Read: FC Goa eyeing Hero Super Cup semi-final spot

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