AFC Cup: Bengaluru FC gear up to thwart Johor Darul Ta'zim

The first leg ended in a 1-1 stalemate where Eugeneson Lyngdoh scored a peach of a goal against the Malaysian outfit in their home.

Johor Darul Ta'zim gaffer Mario Gomez, who has to deploy his pawns sans the attacking trio comprising of Jorge Pereyra Díaz, Mohd Amri Yahyah and Juan Martín Lucero, sounded pretty cautious ahead of tomorrow's match against Bengaluru FC.

"Obviously it's (missing three key players) going to hurt us but we have to work on other strengths to seal the spot in the AFC Cup final."

He didn't mince his words to praise Bengaluru FC as well, "Bengaluru have done a splendid job back at our home and they are obviously having an advantage, thanks to their away goal. But I'm a person who prefers to work and obviously we're coming tomorrow to win the tie."

On the other hand, Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca stated that "this could be special for Indian Football."

The astute Spaniard coach shared with the media that his team won't shy away to play an attacking brand of football tomorrow as they have been doing under his stewardship.

"We know that we have scored against them in Malaysia, which is important. But, our intention is not to sit back and defend. We want to go out and try to score more goals because we will not be able to reach the final with a defensive mindset."

Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who scored a peach of a goal against the defending AFC Cup champions Johor Darul Ta'zim in the first leg, addressed the media as well and cleared his intentions of rewriting the Indian Football history tomorrow.

"Obviously it's about the representation of our country on the bigger stage. We have played up to our potential, but the job is far from done and we need to step up tomorrow to get it done ahead of our home crowd."

Albeit the mercury is soaring up regarding tomorrow's high-octane encounter, Albert Roca mentioned that 'this is a game of football and there will be more such games in the future.'

"I consider that this is a very important match for Indian because only two teams have reached the semifinals and none have reached the final. The people are realising that this could be special for Indian football. As for me, I try to be calm because I want the team to be calm as well. I do not want them to be overconfident because this is a game of football and there will be more such games in the future. As of now, there is a game tomorrow and we will try to do our best", he signed off on a positive note.

Image: AIFF Media