A Bengaluru FC side comprising mainly of Under-19 players left for Pune on Friday to compete in the DSK Invitational Cup. The Blues, led by Curtis Osano and with assistant coach Pradhyum Reddy at the helm, will take on Pune FC on Saturday, in a group that includes Gangtok Himalayan Sports Club.
“We have a responsibility to develop our players and maintain their fitness. We’re going to make the most of the DSK Cup and make sure that our players get maximum game time. It’s a good chance for the younger players to develop and gain valuable experience” said Reddy on the eve of the game.
With a squad comprising of just six regular first team players, Reddy maintains that tournaments like the DSK Cup help in giving players match practice during the off-season.
“We’ve put together a team with six senior players and five junior players comprising our starting XI and we’ve had very little time to prepare. But, the main objective is to keep our players fit and to get match practice which we wouldn’t have got if we had stayed in Karnataka,” Reddy added.
Skipper Osano hailed the efforts of the youngsters during training, stating his confidence in putting up a good show at the tournament. “We’re going to the DSK Cup with the mindset of doing well. With the quality of the young players we have here, we’re sure of achieving something. The U19 players have improved by leaps and bounds with each training session and they’re gelling really well with the rest of the squad,” said Osano.
Summer signings Kim Song-Yong and Alwyn George too are part of the squad while NS Manju, Vishal Kumar and Beikhokhei Beingaichho complete the list of first team players who have made the trip to Pune.
The twelve-team tournament will see participation from Salgaocar, Dempo, hosts and reigning champions DSK Shivaijians among others. The Blues kick-off proceedings at 5.30 pm, on Saturday at the DSK Dream City facility.
Bengaluru FC Squad
Sharath K., Srijith S., Curtis Osano (captain), NS Manju, Vishal Kumar, Joshua Nallapalli, Salam Ranjan Singh, Jonathan Piers, Prashanth Kalinga, Beikhokhei Beingaichho, Alwyn George, Rishabh Agarwal, Nishad Nagraj, Arun Kumar, Shelton Paul, Pradeep Ramesh, Kim Song Yong, and Akshay Kumar
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