Roca seeks reaction when Bengaluru confronts Aizawl
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Bengaluru, May 1 (PTI) Needing a win to maintain their hopes of reaching the last 16 for the fourth consecutive season alive, Bengaluru FC will host Aizawl FC in a crucial AFC Cup match tomorrow.
A clash 2- The 0 defeat against New Radiant in the Maldives last week meant that Bengaluru's chances of making the zonal semifinal of the tournament do not fall on his hands.
Coach Albert Roca's Blues will have to win their two remaining games in Group E while waiting for the Maldivian side to lose points at least once.
"We are in a situation where we could finish the group stages with 15 points and still find ourselves out of the Cup. But that's how football is sometimes and we have to accept it and focus on doing our side of work and then we hope for the best, "said the Spaniard.
Win in the next two games for Bengaluru FC and New Radiant would leave the clubs with points, but a difference of goals head-to-head gives the team of Oscar Bruzon They need to advance in the tournament.
Roca, who had to witness an unusually smooth performance of Bengaluru FC in the Maldives from the stands at the National Stadium, will be back on the sideline after having served a game suspension. [19659018] And he admits that the team will have to do more than shake everything out of that game.
"It was more disappointing than frustrating to see the way we played last week, we did not show up and we were forced to do it, but there's no time to discuss def eat, we need to react with solid performance that gives us the best opportunity for progress ".
When the two teams met in Guwahati in early April, Bengaluru FC won 3-1 after receiving an early pass. It has not exactly been a comfortable welcome to life in mainland football for the team coached by Santosh Kashyap who, with a point in four games, is at the bottom of the table.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru will have Spanish forward Daniel Segovia back in contention after an injury forced him to miss the trip to Male.
"The return of Segovia gives us more options in attack and given our situation, we need goals to finish the game, of course, it's going to take a collective effort, more than two games to get us out of line," Roca said.
In the other game of the group, New Radiant receives the third classified, Abahani Dhaka, in an early throw-in and while Roca admits that the team will consider how the game ends, he is sure that it will not affect the intention of Bengaluru when they enter the field.
"It is unfortunate that we have to depend on other results to continue on our way, but as I said before, we have to fix it as much as we can and that will happen when we make a presentation that this tea is capable of