I-League: Momentum with Bengaluru FC as Lajong come to town looking for a win

Rino Anto and Joshua Walker take part in a training drill at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Friday.

Bengaluru: Coach Ashley Westwood said the momentum was with his team as Bengaluru FC host Shillong Lajong at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Saturday. The Blues come into this game on the back of a 1-0 win over Bharat FC at home last week and Westwood is hopeful of the team churning out the results as the climb on the table gains pace.

“The momentum’s with us at the minute. We’ve won the last two games, have scored five goals and we’ve had two clean sheets so that’s good form. Hopefully we can carry that forward into the next games and climb up the table and find ourselves where we want to be at the end of the season,” he said.

Shillong haven’t had the best of starts to the League with three points from four games and while foreign players joining the team late has much to do with the dismal run, coach Thangboi Singto said the team are keen on getting things back on track. “As a team, as Shillong Lajong, we have to believe in what we can do and hopefully we can get a result tomorrow, which is what we've come here to do.”

The traveling team has retained the services of strikers Cornell Glen and Uilliams Souza apart from bringing aboard seasoned midfielder Penn Orji and the inclusions will sure add mettle to Lajong’s season.

On the injury front, Sean Rooney looks a doubtful starter for the Blues. The Australian striker missed the win over Bharat with a sore groin and Westwood said a call on his inclusion would be taken on the morning of the game.

Interestingly, tomorrow's game could see as many as three former Lajong players start against their old club. Midfielder Eugeneson Lyngdoh, goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte and left-back Lalchhuanmawia who have all played for the club from the hills, have played an integral part in Bengaluru FC’s season this far. Lyngdoh, is in fact, the club’s leading scorer in the League with three goals in five games.

Across competitions, Bengaluru have a 2-1 record over Lajong and the I-League champions’ last win came in the Federation Cup where a Robin Singh strike was enough to see the Blues through. Westwood’s team will make the trip to Kolkata where they play Mohun Bagan on February 20 and a win on Saturday would be the perfect injection as the season picks pace. The game kicks off at 7 pm.