A determined Bengaluru FC (BFC) will look to turn the tables on Aizawl FC in the second leg of its Federation Cup battle, to be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday.
BFC, the defending champion, had lost 2-1 to Aizawl FC in the first leg on Saturday. Having snatched an away goal, a 1-0 victory here will be enough to see the Bengaluru team through to the semifinal stage, while a draw will see the Mizoram club knock out the National champion.
A confident BFC coach Ashley Westwood said, “We should have been 4-0 up at Aizawl. We hit the post once, one was cleared off the line, missed a good chance, and we didn’t have a lot of luck with the penalties.
“Hopefully, we will get a lot of chances tomorrow and move on to the next round.” Aizawl striker Joel Sunday, who scored the 90th-minute match-winner in that fixture, is hopeful of repeating his feat. “By God’s grace, I hope to do it again. I apologise for saying this in Bengaluru, but it will feel great to get a goal in the second leg as well,” the Nigerian said.
For Aizawl coach Jahar Das, this match serves as an opportunity to prove that his side belongs in the I-League main draw.
“As the eighth-placed team on the I-League points table, the rules state that we should be relegated. We will protest this by giving a good performance on the pitch against the National champion,” Jahar said.
