Bengaluru FC eye Aizawl scalp, semis slot

Bengaluru will bank on captain Sunil Chhetri, Kim Song-Yong, and Udanta Singh in the second leg.

Following a less than ideal start to their title defence, Bengaluru FC have their work cut out when they take on Aizawl FC in the second leg of their Federation Cup tie at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Tuesday.

The newly-crowned I-League champions suffered a 2-1 loss in the first leg away at Aizawl and require a win to ensure their spot in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the travelling side only need a draw to proceed. That said, to enter with a defensive mentality could hurt them as the home side come into the fixture with an away goal.

“We are at home and have a good record here. We played really well in the first 30 minutes of the away fixture and should have been 4-0 up to be honest. We had a lot of travel and were not very focused. I feel we didn’t have a lot of luck with the penalties. Hopefully, we will get a lot of chances tomorrow and will take it through,” said BFC head coach Ashley Westwood.

The onus of getting the goal will fall on the shoulders of Kim Song-Yong, Udanta Singh and Sunil Chhetri who will be up against Emmanuel Chigozie and Co. up front. Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Michael Collins will be key in midfield even as centre back John Johnson and right back Rino Anto will be tasked to contain Joel Sunday who will be the focal point of their attack.

Jeje double guides Bagan to win PTI adds: In Vasco, Jeje Lalpekhlua scored a goal in each half to guide Mohun Bagan to a 3-2 win over Salgaocar FC.

Jeje scored in the very first and the 85th minute, while substitute Abhishek Das added one in the 77th. Martin Scott (26th) and Calvin Mbarga (31st) found the net for Salgaocar.