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Stags remain calm ahead of do-or-die AFC Cup tie

SINGAPORE — It may have been the eve of Tampines Rovers’ most important match of the season so far, but the club’s head coach Akbar Nawas showed no signs of nerves ahead of this evening’s AFC Cup quarter-final second-leg tie against Indian champions Bengaluru FC.

SINGAPORE — It may have been the eve of Tampines Rovers’ most important match of the season so far, but the club’s head coach Akbar Nawas showed no signs of nerves ahead of this evening’s AFC Cup quarter-final second-leg tie against Indian champions Bengaluru FC.

Instead, the 41-year-old appeared unfazed by the momentous task facing his side at Jalan Besar Stadium in their quest to reach the AFC Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.

Currently trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Bangalore, Akbar knows his team will have to take the initiative in the second leg and score in order to remain in the competition. This could prove to be easier said than done, however, as the Stags have drawn blanks in their past two games.

Nonetheless, Akbar, who took over the reins of the team in May, believes his charges have what it takes to beat Bengaluru and become the first S.League club in 12 years to reach the semis of the competition — only if they retain their composure during the match.

“It is a must-win game tomorrow, and we will go all out to advance to the semis,” declared Akbar.

“Of course we do feel the pressure. For any coach and player, you’ll have butterflies in your stomach before every match even if you have (Lionel) Messi in your team.

“But it’s how you deal with it and it’s up to me to relieve this pressure. If I’m calm, then the players will be calm. We just need to keep composed against Bengaluru, we cannot rush into things, and we must focus on playing the type of football we know we are capable of.

“Importantly, we want to give a good account of ourselves and be able to hold our heads up at the end of 90 minutes.

“We can’t guarantee the victory, but we can influence the outcome and I expect my players to play as hard as they can.”

Agreeing, Stags goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud added: “We felt we deserved a better result from the first leg and the boys are eager to go out there to prove themselves.

“It’s one of the most important matches for us this season because we’ll be making history if we do reach the semis.

“But the mood in the team is very good, everyone’s smiling and enjoying themselves in training and we are just looking forward to winning this game.”

Bengaluru head coach Albert Roca said while his team need only a draw to progress, he will not set his team out to play defensively.

“We have to be brave and play like we did in the first leg,” he said. “We cannot change our style of play, and we have to be aggressive and try to score as well.” NOAH TAN

AFC CUP Q-FINALS, 2ND LEG

Tampines Rovers v Bengaluru FC

Singtel TV Ch114 & StarHub TV Ch208, 7.20pm

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