ISL: Favourites Bengaluru take on doughty Pune in first leg semis

Representational PicIt will be a battle of two playoff debutants when roundrobin group toppers and favourites Bengaluru FC take on FC Pune City in the first leg semifinal of the Indian Super League at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi here tomorrow BFC who made their debut in the ISL this season after making a big mark in the ILeague till last season have been the most impressive among the 10 teams and go into the first leg semifinal clash with their tails up against a team that have made it to the playoff for the first time in four attemptsWith both sides possessing some top class strikers and effective midfielders apart from two Indian goalies Vishal Kaith and Gurpreet Singh who have been quietly efficient the game promises to provide exciting fare In India skipper Sunil Chhetri and Venezuelan Miku who are second and fifth in the goalgetters list with 14 and 10 strikes respectively the BFC have a potent strike force that would be hard to containThe BFC go into the match with a slight advantage of having beaten Pune City comprehensively once but the hosts can take comfort from the fact that when the two met in the return leg in the league phase the match ended in a stalemate Mikus brace and Chhetris stoppage time strike helped Bengaluru come back from a goal behind to register a thrilling 31 win when the two teams met at this venue earlier The visitors whose fivegame winning streak was halted earlier by Pune with a draw will be going into the game after logging a recordsetting 40 points while maintaining an eightmatch unbeaten streak BFCs Spanish coach Albert Roca was a relieved man after his team scored its 13th win of the season with a 20 verdict over Kerala Blasters in a game in which the teams two main defenders John Johnson and Juanan were out due to suspensionsThe ISL debutants have qualified for the semifinals as the league toppers but Roca was wary of getting complacent This is the most difficult part of the season We have finished on top with a lot of points but the pressure is on us Now its time to be humble and work harder with the right mentality he said These wins help us with the confidence but we do not have a lot of days to prepare right now So we must have the right mentality Roca had said after the last game win The 55yearold singled out Chhetri for praise for the Indian captains consistent performance right through I am very happy with Sunil Roca had statedHe is a player who has played more than 2000 minutes in the season so far He is a special player and hes always giving his best for the team he said Hes a very competitive player who plays regularly for the national team I am happy for him and his outstanding season Roca had remarked If the BFC has a potent frontline Pune has in Marcelinho a topclass forward who has forged a fine understanding with fellowSouth Americans Emiliano Alfaro of Uruguay and Brazilian compatriot Diego Carlos who all have served out suspensions from gamesThese three would pose a constant danger to the BFC citadel with promptings from the likes of Adil Khan and Marcos Tebar in the midfield Having picked up just two points from their last three matches the hosts coached by Serbian Ranko Popovic will be eager to make amends in the semifinals after having finished fourth in the round robin stage with 30 points from nine wins and three draws A key factor to Punes success has been Popovics faith in young Indian players like Kaith Sartak Golui Isaac Vanmalsawma Ashique Kuruniyan Rohit Kumar and Sahil Panwar who have all played key roles during the seasonWe want to make most players possible for Indian national team and make the league stronger said Popovic in the runup to tomorrows tough game against BFC The Serbian coach has made the most of the players handed out to him after last years head coach Antonio Habas quit post the players draft Tomorrows game will show whether Papovic was able to guide his team into the second leg in Bengaluru on March 11 with the added advantage of a victory in the first legCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the goThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever