I-League Media

GOA: Churchill Brothers FC Goa, who finally opened their account after a hard-fought draw against DSK Shivajians, will be cautiously optimistic against title favourites Bengaluru FC, whose air of invincibility and high flying run was cut short by a 2-1 defeat against Kingfisher East Bengal.

The respective results saw Churchill Brothers FC Goa move up to the eighth position above Chennai City and Minerva Punjab while Bengaluru FC find themselves in the fourth position behind Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Aizawl FC.

“We are looking forward to our home match and they are coming from a loss while we are coming from a draw. So some positives are there and maybe their confidence can be low after that defeat. We have some tactical plans on how to contain them and since they are such a strong team with quality players, we have to come up with something extra,” Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes suggested.

However, Bengaluru are still the team to beat and a defeat after three straight wins means that the defending champions would be desperate to put things right as they take on the Red Machines.

“We want to get back to our winning ways again. We know how difficult tomorrow’s game is going to be. It will be even harder than it was against Kolkata. We have to be ready mentally to prepare for this game. You know the league does not give you too much time to prepare for the games. But for everybody, it is the same. If we want something then we have to go out and try to get it. We have to be ready to work hard, to run a lot even more than them if we want to win,” Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca said.

As far as the Goan side are concerned, they will be looking to build on the positive performance against DSK Shivajians which saw them walk away with a precious point. However, they find themselves up against a star-studded team like Bengaluru FC but Alfred suggested that his team will not be intimidated by the big names.

“Our confidence is very high after our last match because we came from a goal down and we nearly upset DSK Shivajians. In the last ten minutes, we were literally camping in their area. Sometimes luck has to be on your side. Hopefully, tomorrow luck is on our side. We have been playing against the best teams and we are not intimidated,” Alfred said.

Churchill Brothers don’t have any major injury concerns and it will be down to coach Alfred to pick his team. The Goan tactician is developing a reputation in picking players based on their merit and not on experience or seniority.

As far as Roca is concerned, the former Barcelona assistant coach wants his team to continue playing their game even though East Bengal managed to outsmart them.

“Obviously I can’t disclose how we are going to play tomorrow. But the way that we play, we cannot change a lot. We cannot play long balls and we have tried always more or less to play our game. We don’t want to think too much or cry about the last result and I will adjust to see how my team reacts,” he concluded.

The kick-off is at 07:05 pm at the Tilak Maidan in Goa and the match will be telecast live on Ten 2.