Pune, Feb 25 (IANS) Pune FC begins their maiden AFC Cup campaign hosting Myanmar’s Nay Pyi Taw FC in a Round 1 encounter at the Shree Shivchhattrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here Wednesday.
The two Group H teams will be playing for the first time in Asia’s second level competition and either side hopes to kick off the campaign with a win.
Like Pune FC, the visitors also qualified for the AFC Cup after finishing runners-up in their league in the previous season.
Coached by former Myanmar international Myo Hlaing Win, NPT ply the trade in the Myanmar National League (MNL) and currently occupy third place in the standings after four rounds. After losing their season opener, NPT have done well to notch three consecutive wins.
“We have begun our domestic season well. We have played four games and have three wins and a loss so far and have a fully fit squad. Pune FC come into the game after playing the Champions League play-off. We have seen their videos and know they are one of the toughest team in our group,” Win said.
Formed in 2010, NPT was included directly into the MNL which expanded from eight to 11 teams. They finished 10th in their first season and were runners-up in the 2011 MFF Cup.
In the following two seasons, they finished sixth (2011) and seventh (2012) before ending as runners-up last year behind eventual champions Yangon United.
“We are happy to arrive in India. We are currently third in our league and will not be pushovers. We want to give a good fight to Pune FC,” NPT skipper and goalkeeper Van Lar Hrual said.
Currently, Pune FC are midway through their league campaign and are confident going into the game, having logged a couple of positive results at home.
“The home games in the tournament are very important. We should make the most of it, otherwise we will be under pressure going into the away games,” Pune FC coach Mike Snoei said.
Stand-in skipper Douhou Pierre echoed the same sentiments: “This is an international game, not an I-League game. We need to be at our best, especially at home, and can’t take the opponents lightly.”
Sitting third in I-League, Pune FC recently ended their winless streak with a dominating 2-0 win over Mohammedan Sporting last week and will be boosted by the return of few players from injury.
Having failed to make past the AFC Champions League play-Offs, Snoei expects a good performance from the team.
“We have a few players missing like Anas (Edathodika) and Arata (Izumi). However, the team must step up and give it all. In the meantime, we must not take pressure and try to enjoy these games.”
