Having lost their campaign opener, newbies Aizwal FC face a tough task when they take on former champions Bengaluru FC in Mizoram's first I-League match here tomorrow.
The Mizoram capital is abuzz with the talk of witnessing its first-ever I-League match, but on the field at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium it will not be easy to face the team from Bengaluru, led by India captain Sunil Chhetri.
Aizawl FC lost 1-3 to defending champions Mohun Bagan in Kolkata on January 9 and they are pitted against another formidable opponents in Bengaluru, who are high on confidence after defeating Salgaocar in their opening match, in their second match tomorrow.
In the match against Bagan, Aizawl's defence was exposed several times as Cornell Glen struck twice and Balwant Singh scored the other goal. Aizawl's only strike came from rival defender Pritam Kotal's own goal.
Bengaluru, on the other hand, have come here on the back of a 2-1 win over Salgaocar, that too in their away match in Goa. Bengaluru forward C K Vineeth struck the opening goal while Chhetri netted the winner after Darryl Duffy equalised for Salgaocar.
Bengaluru have a strong line-up with Chhetri in fine form following his impressive show in Indian Super League and later in the SAFF Cup.
Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Thoi Singh would be trying to dominate the midfield and an inexperienced Aizwal, without reputed names, will have to play out of their skin. Though the football crazy Aizwal fans would be egging on their team it remains to be seen how much the home side can withstand the Bengaluru raids.
Aizwal are more or less an unknown quantity, though they were impressive in the I-League second division, and they will no doubt begin as underdogs against Bengaluru tomorrow.
