ASHGABAT: Carles Cuadrat’s Bengaluru FC are confident of turning the table on Altyn Asyr for a spot in the Inter-Zone final of the AFC Cup, hereon Wednesday.
Having suffered a 2-3 defeat at home, the Blues will need to win by a two-goal margin at the Kopetdag Stadium.
Though Cuadrat admitted that conceding three goals at home was far from the ideal scenario going into a second leg, he was confident that the late fightback at the Kanteerava has given his side belief and a chance against tough opponents. “Altyn Asyr is a good team who have been doing well in this competition.
When they came to Bengaluru, they were in the middle of their league commitments and you could tell by how fit they were.
They took advantage of the options they had in front of our goal,” said the Spaniard while addressing the media today. The team from Turkmenistan didn’t have much of the ball in the first leg, but they made their reliance on the counter attack matter, with clinical finishing. Cuadrat said the early goals were a tad bit disappointing because they knew how the visitors would tackle the tie.
“When you’re down a goal at home you want to get right back into it and that’s where we conceded another one on the counter attack. We have been watching Altyn Asyr’s games in the AFC Cup and we know they don’t really have a lot of possession during the game.
“Most games they usually have around 45 percent possession. They know they must defend well and punish the other teams on the counter. So, it wasn’t a surprise.” The Blues will be wary of the threat that the hosts possess through Altymyrat Annadurdyyew and Wahyt Orazsahedow, both of who were on target in Bengaluru. (PTI)
