|
As the anticipation builds around the 2nd Division I league qualifiers, FC Bengaluru United will take on Chennayin B at the SSN ground in Chennai on Friday, in a Group C clash that will be their fourth of their season. FC Bengaluru United currently have secured four points in 3 matches, while Chennayin B trails them by one point with just as many games.
Ahead of the encounter former Chennai City FC defender who also featured in the Karanataka squad that won the Santosh Trophy earlier this year, Pradison, shared his thoughts on their previous fixture against Golden Threads FC, his teams' prospects in the tournament, the challenges of playing away from home and returning to a ground that he is familiar with. In their previous fixture, FC Bengaluru United was denied a victory by a late equaliser. Commenting on the frustrating result, Pradison said, "It was our first away game of the season and they had a lot of supporters. It would have been wonderful to win our first away game and it wasn't the result we were looking for. Personally, it was a very frustrating result as we were leading the game up to the 80th minute and conceding in the last few minutes is always tough. A scoreline of 1-0 is always a dangerous scoreline, we had lots of opportunities to score and should learn to capitalise on these chances more. Defensively we could've done better as we wanted to keep a clean sheet but we will learn and improve from it." Pradison added that transitioning from an artificial to a grass pitch meant that the team took some time to find their rhythm and acclimatise, "Playing and practising on turf for so long and then going and playing on natural grass grounds is a bit challenging. It took the team some time to get set and feel comfortable on grass grounds." FCBU's upcoming encounter against Chennayin B will be their second consecutive game away from home. Hailing from Tamil Nadu, Pradison has played at the SSN College ground numerous times during his formative years. "I was brought up and did my studies in Chennai so going there to represent FCBU and play our next game is very exciting for me personally and I'm waiting for that moment to arrive." While FC Bengaluru United is pursuing an I-League berth, Pradison has played in the I-League during his stint with Chennai City FC. Talking about the level of competition at that level, Pradison said, "When I was playing in the I-league there were a lot of foreign and top-quality players in my team as well as in other teams. It was a tough but exciting challenge to go up against players of such a high calibre. However, I think we have an excellent squad this season, capable of competing at that level. Yes, some early results have not gone our way but as in football mistakes will happen. We are working to rectify these mistakes with the help of our Coach who is always pushing us towards perfection." On facing Chennayin B, Pradison is feeling confident about the team's prospects, "I know as always, an Away match is challenging and this will be the same. I believe we have played and fought well in the last few games so if we trust and follow our Coaches' instructions, we can win the upcoming encounter and perform well."(ANI)
|
