Bengaluru: “On a given day, they can beat anyone,” was the statement from Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen pertaining to Bengaluru FC.
While the truth of the statement cannot be argued, the fact of the matter is that ‘the days’ have just not come calling this time around for the defending champions. With one win from the last nine league matches and 12 points adrift the leaders, BFC are having a torrid season.
With expectations of a turnaround ending in disappointment week after week, Bengaluru can no longer delay if they are to get out of muddy waters. And it has to start when they host Bagan at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday, the first of two back to back games in the space of four days between the two sides over two competitions.
Over the course of the season, fingers have been pointed towards luck, defensive mistakes and refereeing decisions as reasons for the AFC Cup finalist’s current predicament. Some of them are justified, but in the grand scheme of things it has to be said that Albert Roca has failed to get the best out of the players in his system.
Unsuccessful recruitment and dearth of players who can produce the kind of football he demands are bullet points as well.
Impossible a thought as this was at the start of the season, failure to turn things around could potentially see the champions battling to maintain their top division status.
Sixth-placed Churchill are showing signs of life under Derrick Pereira with three wins on the trot and an upturn in the form of Mumbai FC could set off a tough battle as three of the five teams place below BFC are exempt from relegation.
Meanwhile, Bagan, who are seven points behind surprise leaders Aizawl FC but with two games in hand, come into the ground where they clinched the league title two seasons ago with less than favourable results in their wake. The last week has seen them lose their unbeaten status, drop five points from two matches and have questions asked about their defending.
A trend they will be keen to rectify if they are to continue their title push.
BFC will be hoping for more concentration from their defence on Saturday and the fact that Rino Anto might make the bench will surely be a boost. Serbian striker Marjan Jugovic is likely to make his first appearance at home while it wont be a surprise if Roca tweaks the formation and midfield personal.
Goalkeeper Debjit Majumdar and Pranoy Halder will be key absentees for the away side who have, in captain Katsumi Yusa and the often mercurial but frustrating Sony Norde, creators extraordinaire and clinical finishers in Darryl Duffy, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Balwant Singh.
Fixtures: DSK Shivajians vs Mumbai FC, Minerva Punjab vs Aizawl (4:35 pm), Bengaluru FC vs Mohun Bagan (7:05 pm)
