Blues take on table-toppers Bengaluru FC
SHILLONG: A cornered Rangdajied United FC will have it all to play for when they take on table-toppers Bengaluru FC in an Airtel I-League match at the JN Stadium here on Saturday.
The Blues have made some decisive changes since their 2-0 loss at Dempo a couple of weeks ago, dispensing with the services of coach Santosh Kashyap who has been replaced by Hering Shangpliang. Rangdajied have also brought in star striker Ranti Martins from United SC.
Kashyap, who has led the team since before the start of the season – Rangdajied’s first in the top tier – was shown the door as the Blues have been locked into the relegation zone, never advancing beyond 12th place in the 13-team standings.
However, with the season drawing to a close, the management seems to have lost its faith in Kashyap and Shangpliang, a well respected coach from the State has been roped in to save the season for the Blues. He will have to pull off something remarkable as his new club only has eight games left in the season, with the match against Bengaluru the first of three in a row at home.
Rangdajied also signed Ranti Martins from financially troubled United SC and the Nigerian will be expected to help the Shillong team turn things around.
“We did not play badly but it was just that we did not convert the chances that came our way,” Rangdajied FC captain Eugeneson Lyngdoh said. He said the whole team was looking forward to Saturday’s match as Martins and Shangpliang were doing “exceptionally well” in motivating the rest of the squad.
“He is a good motivator. We expect there will be a lot of surprises for the team and that is good news as it will mean a lot of changes in our placement,” Lyngdoh said.
Rangdajied assistant coach Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh said that the team will go all out for a win on Saturday. “With new tactics, and Martins, who is gelling well with the others, the players are growing in confidence,” he said adding that Shangpliang is known to be a good motivator and it will be a positive change for the team.
For Bengaluru, their first season in the I-League has been a completely different one to that of their Saturday opponents. Leading the table is an incredible achievement for the Sunil Chhetri-led team, but their incredible run in the first half of the season has been tamed somewhat recently. They did not have a very good Federation Cup campaign (in the same group as Rangdajied) and they drew 1-1 against Mumbai in the first match of the League restart. “We don’t expect an easy game,” Ashley Westwood, coach of Bengaluru, said at a press conference here on Friday.
Bengaluru were 3-0 winners over the Blues in the reverse fixture at the very start of the season.
“We played against Rangdajied in the Federation Cup where we drew 1-1 and we’ve studied their game in depth.” “We’re all fit, no suspensions, so we’ll have a full squad for tomorrow,” he added.
Chettri, for his part, said he was excited about playing his first game in Shillong and expected a good fight. (Agencies)