I-League Qualifier: Bhawanipore FC cautious as they prepare for Garhwal FC test

Bhawanipore FC head coach Sankarlal Chakraborty lauded Garhwal FC as the "fittest" team in the competition on the eve of the clash between the two sides in Hero I-League Qualifiers here on Wednesday. Garhwal FC currently sit at the bottom of the table, having lost both of their matches against Mohammedan SC and FC Bengaluru United. However, the Bhawanipore coach pointed out that the Garhwal players are the fittest of the lot, he has seen so far.

"Garhwal are the fittest team in the tournament. I've seen both their matches. They may have lost both of them, but they created a lot of chances. Had they converted those, the table might have looked very different today," said Sankarlal. Meanwhile, Garhwal will be desperate to get some points on the board. "Tomorrow's game is very important for us. We know Bhawanipore is a very strong side. We respect them a lot. We may not have had any point on the table so far now but we are working really hard to get these six points," Garhwal head coach Vikas Rawat said.

Bhawanipore FC ‘cautious’ 👀 as they prepare for @GarhwalFC test 🤜🏻🤛🏻

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"The mood in the dressing room is not of sorrow. We are very confident. Our performances were good and we are confident that we will come back stronger in the coming games, starting against Bhawanipore," he added. The Garhwal boss further stated that his side has worked on their finishing, and will be looking to end their goal scoring woes in their third match of the tournament. "You never know what happens on the field. At the end of the day, match-day is where you have to deliver. Training is for trying things and match day is to deliver. We have worked a lot on our finishing. We saw the loopholes in the team from the past two games and have worked on them in training," said Rawat.

Garhwal FC

Sankarlal, on the other hand, remained over-cautious, stating that it would be difficult to play against a side that has an open mind like Garhwal. "Having lost their first two matches, they have nothing to lose right now. And that is a dangerous mentality to play against. We are over-cautious against them." One positive coming out of the Garhwal camp, however, is the performance of goalkeeper Sayak Barai. The 23-year-old custodian has had a huge presence in goal, making numerous saves during the match. "We have been constantly talking about Sayak's performance and we are very happy. Personally, I am happy with the way Sayak has done in the last 2 games. Seeing his confidence, we are pretty sure that in the last two games, he will be the most important player in our defence," Rawat said.