Pune FC will be out to push the distance when they take on Mohun Bagan AC in a Group-A encounter of the 117th IFA Shield at Kalyani Stadium, on Tuesday.
Having fallen short on three previous attempts, Pune FC, this time around, is eager to shake free from the group stage. The inspiration for the same stems from the fact that several players in their midst tasted Shield success.
Pune FC Coach, Derrick Pereira, says, “Yes, it’s another opportunity for us and we hope to do well.”
For the record, Captain Douhou Pierre, along with Othallo Tabia, S Venkatesh, and Sukwinder Singh formed a winning unit at Mumbai, likewise Jerry Karpeh and Khanthang Paite joined forces at Goa in the past. In fact, Paite has a remarkable record of having won the last 3 IFA Shields in a row (twice with Churchill Brothers and last season with East Bengal).
Adding up is Coach Derrick Pereira who has two IFA Shield victories.
The match-up against Bagan, will be the second time both teams clash in the 2012-13 season. Earlier, the teams drew 2-2 in an I-League game at Pune.
“It’s important to get off to a winning start. This is our first major competition match after the break,” explains the Coach.
Pune FC during the I-League break has kept sharp with victory in the Peninsula Pune Cup, while Bagan have been doing the same with the Kolkata Premier League. Pune FC come off a three-match winning streak, while their Kolkata opponents come off the back of a 3-0 win against 2nd Division bound Mohammedan Sporting at Kalyani on Saturday.
“We need to maintain the winning mentality... go in with a play-to-win attitude. We will need to see how they come out at us,” Coach adds.
The game will be the ninth meeting between the two sides, with Bagan winning three and Pune FC one apart from four draws. Interestingly, this is the second meeting in the IFA Shield, with Bagan prevailing earlier and reason for Pune FC to exact revenge.
Pune FC will miss the services of Gurjinder Kumar, Arata Izumi and Jeje Lalpekhlua and similarly Bagan who have Jewel Raja, Nirmal Chhetri, and Syed Rahim Nabi on National duty.
Both however, have their full contingent of 4 foreigners to those from, with Tolgay Ozbey having returned to full fitness to support Captain Odafa Okolie up front. Bagan have also changed one foreigner during the second window, with ex Salgaocar playmaker Quinton Jacobs replacing Nigerian Stanley. Quinton had played against Pune FC in Jamshedpur. The other Bagan foreigner is Nigerian defender Anyichie Eche.
Pune FC, meanwhile, have in-wait new-signing Boima ‘Jerry’ Karpeh. “We’ve not yet on Jerry’s inclusion for the game,” who wished to take his time on naming his squad for the game.
The match overall is crucial with both teams eye to set the tone in the group with a positive start. Moreover, with the presence of Costa Rican Saprissa the race will be for the top two slots and a place in the next stage. The fourth team in the group is United Sikkim FC.