<p>Champions Bengaluru FC will look to shrug off the disappointment from their goalless draw in the opening I-League game against Dempo SC when they take on Pune FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday. </p>.<p> <br /><br />While the Blue Brigade played out a dull draw in front of their home crowd a week ago, Pune FC were robbed of three points in their opening fixture against Salgaocar FC when referee O P Prakash disallowed what seemed like a legitimate goal.<br /><br />The teams last met in the Federation Cup group stage when BFC posted a 2-1 win over the Red Lizards. But the BFC coach Ashley Westwood knows that taking his opponents lightly will be a mistake. “Pune are a very good side and their previous matches have shown us that. Though the results were not in their favour, their performances have been commendable.<br /><br />“It’s our second game and we want to win it. The last result was a disappointing one. We could have walked away with three points, but that was not to be. The league hardly has 20 games and every point lost could hurt our hopes for the season. It’s more like a knock-out tournament here,” said Westwood.<br /><br />The Englishman also confirmed that his side would miss the services of playmaker Joshua Walker and 18-year-old Udanta Singh, who are recovering from injuries. This could see Westwood once again field a 4-4-2 formation with once again Thoi Singh and Eugeneson Lyngdoh taking up the mid-field role with Bengaicho Beokhokhei and capitan Sunil Chhetri on the wings.<br /><br />Robin Singh could once again pair up with Sean Rooney up front, while the defence will be marshalled by the experienced John Johnson and Curtis Osano, with Keegan Pereira and local lad Rino Anto in the wing-back positions.<br /><br />Trying to halt Bengaluru — an unshakable force at home with just one loss till date — will be the master tactician, Karim Bencherifa, who is guiding Pune’s fortunes. Into his first season with the team, Bencherifa has already started to influence Pune’s style of play and he believes it will just be a matter of time before results too start coming.<br /><br />“Yes, the results have not come our way, but I would not like to take anything form my players who have put up a great show in the past few matches. Not winning against Salgaocar was a disappointment. But, that’s how football is. You need to dust off your back and carry on. Two tough away games back-to-back to begin with. We came back with a point from Goa and three tomorrow could just be the prefect start that we are looking for the season,” said Bencherifa.<br /><br />The Pune outfit will be without Anas Edathodika, Prakash Thorat, Fanai Lalrempuia and Bineesh Balan. But the team will get a much-needed boost up front with their marquee signing Darko Nikac being available for selection. <br /><br />The last time the two teams met in Bengaluru, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Saturday’s game could also be hard-fought as both the teams will try to extract the maximum out of it, with any slip up denting their prospects.<br />DH News Service</p>
<p>Champions Bengaluru FC will look to shrug off the disappointment from their goalless draw in the opening I-League game against Dempo SC when they take on Pune FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday. </p>.<p> <br /><br />While the Blue Brigade played out a dull draw in front of their home crowd a week ago, Pune FC were robbed of three points in their opening fixture against Salgaocar FC when referee O P Prakash disallowed what seemed like a legitimate goal.<br /><br />The teams last met in the Federation Cup group stage when BFC posted a 2-1 win over the Red Lizards. But the BFC coach Ashley Westwood knows that taking his opponents lightly will be a mistake. “Pune are a very good side and their previous matches have shown us that. Though the results were not in their favour, their performances have been commendable.<br /><br />“It’s our second game and we want to win it. The last result was a disappointing one. We could have walked away with three points, but that was not to be. The league hardly has 20 games and every point lost could hurt our hopes for the season. It’s more like a knock-out tournament here,” said Westwood.<br /><br />The Englishman also confirmed that his side would miss the services of playmaker Joshua Walker and 18-year-old Udanta Singh, who are recovering from injuries. This could see Westwood once again field a 4-4-2 formation with once again Thoi Singh and Eugeneson Lyngdoh taking up the mid-field role with Bengaicho Beokhokhei and capitan Sunil Chhetri on the wings.<br /><br />Robin Singh could once again pair up with Sean Rooney up front, while the defence will be marshalled by the experienced John Johnson and Curtis Osano, with Keegan Pereira and local lad Rino Anto in the wing-back positions.<br /><br />Trying to halt Bengaluru — an unshakable force at home with just one loss till date — will be the master tactician, Karim Bencherifa, who is guiding Pune’s fortunes. Into his first season with the team, Bencherifa has already started to influence Pune’s style of play and he believes it will just be a matter of time before results too start coming.<br /><br />“Yes, the results have not come our way, but I would not like to take anything form my players who have put up a great show in the past few matches. Not winning against Salgaocar was a disappointment. But, that’s how football is. You need to dust off your back and carry on. Two tough away games back-to-back to begin with. We came back with a point from Goa and three tomorrow could just be the prefect start that we are looking for the season,” said Bencherifa.<br /><br />The Pune outfit will be without Anas Edathodika, Prakash Thorat, Fanai Lalrempuia and Bineesh Balan. But the team will get a much-needed boost up front with their marquee signing Darko Nikac being available for selection. <br /><br />The last time the two teams met in Bengaluru, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Saturday’s game could also be hard-fought as both the teams will try to extract the maximum out of it, with any slip up denting their prospects.<br />DH News Service</p>
