I-LEAGUE Media Team

PUNE: Boasting of one of the best line-up of foreign recruits, the high-spirited Pune FC will be looking at consolidating their position at the top of the Hero I-League table when they meet Shillong Lajong FC in the Round 3 encounter at the Balewadi Sports Complex Stadium here on Thursday.

The Piramal Group-owned Pune FC have made their intentions clear under new coach from Morocco, Karim Bencherifa. Their pre-season had been well-chalked out as they played in the Durand Cup, Kings Cup in Bhutan and Hero Federation Cup wherein they made it to two finals.

Pune FC currently lie at No 3 position on 4 points from two games, while Dempo SC are at No 2 with 5 points from three games. Royal Wahingdoh leads the table with 9 points.

And, as they get ready to play their first home match of the 2015 I-League season on the back of their 3-1 win against Bengaluru FC in the defending champions’ own fotress, expectations are high.

The Red Lizards, as Pune FC likes to be known, would start as hot favourites, but only worrying part is that Pune FC and Shillong Lajong  have a history of draws here at the Balewadi Stadium.

This time all eyes would be on Pune FC’s Darko Nikac from Montenegro, Luciano Sabrosa and Thongkhosiem Haokip, who had scored against Bengaluru FC.

For Shillong Lajong, it will be Penn Orji, Cornell Glen and Uilliams Souza, who could prove dangerous for the Red Lizards.

“The I-League is a very balanced competition. The last two to three seasons have been very competitive because every club has the budget to bring strong teams, there is no small and big club. All the clubs have decent and good quality foreign players,” said Pune FC coach Bencherifa.

Speaking about the game he said “The game against Shillong Lajong will be a tough one. I watched the match of Bharat FC against Royal Wahingdoh, nobody expected Royal Wahingdoh to bag three wins in three games, they are on top of the table right now which tells us that there is a lot of quality and the teams are close to each other.”

Reflecting on Pune FC win over Bengaluru, Bencherifa said: “It feels good to beat Bengaluru FC. The win was a sweet one and a big morale booster for the players, I hope we carry on like this and get the desired result.”

“The team will be the same for the game on Thursday, if there will be changes, there might be minor changes,” Bencherifa informed.

Shillong coach Thangboi Singto said “Our preparations have not been the best, in the previous games we had to go with inadequate teams. Now Pune FC is a tough opponent. We are looking forward to the game.”

Match KO: Jan 29 @ 7 pm IST (Ten Action)
Social Media Hashtag: #PFCvSLFC