Abahani’s bid to qualify for the second round of the AFC President’s Cup begins today in Kathmandu when the four-time Bangladesh Premier League champions take on hosts Three Star Club of Nepal at the Dasrath Stadium.
Abahani will be hoping to put a forgetful domestic season behind them by advancing to the second round of the President’s Cup but will be facing a stiff challenge from the champions of Nepal, Taiwan and Mongolia.
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“We are here to offer the challenge as this type of qualifiers is the best platform to judge the other competitors and assess how much we have improved,” said Abahani’s Iranian coach Ardeshir Pournamat on the eve of the game against Three Star Club of Nepal.
However, Abahani needs to boost up the morale of the players and field an injury-free squad. Lack of fit players was one of major reasons behind Abahani’s exit of the ongoing professional football league in Bangladesh.
Abahani had also a bad experience against a Nepalese side, Nepal Police Club, who handed them 4-0 defeat in the AFC President’s Cup on home soil three years ago and the Iranian coach believed their first match would be very crucial to qualify for the second round.
“First match is always important and difficult. We will go to the field with an aim of winning but we will be careful against the hosts’ team”, said Ardeshir adding that Abahani were the strongest side of the Group A qualifiers.
Three Star Club coach Pradip Humagain had a different opinion and did not want to consider anyone favourites in the group.
“All teams are equal in strength and it is a game of 11 vs 11,” said Humagain. “But we have a strong 12th man, which is the home crowd.”
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