Newcomers Saif Sporting Club will look to overturn a one-goal deficit when they take on hosts TC Sports Club in their pre-playoff of the AFC Cup at the National Stadium in Male, Maldives tonight.
The match is scheduled to get underway at 10:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).
Saif SC trail by a single goal as they conceded a 0-1 defeat at home last week despite creating a number of scoring chances. Now they must beat their opposition in unfamiliar conditions to ensure a play-off berth in the second-tier club competition of Asia.
A 1-0 win for the visitor in normal time will take the tie into extra time while a 2-0 win for them will see them through.
Getting accustomed to the astro-turf in only two practice sessions will be another challenge for the Bangladeshi outfit, who finished fourth in the Bangladesh Premier League and failed to get past the group stage in the ongoing Independence Cup.
It will be a difficult job for the charges of Ryan Northmore, who found very little time to prepare for this competition due to the busy domestic schedule. Despite borrowing a number of players from other clubs, they failed to avoid defeat in the home fixture.
"Pitch is different and full squad got a chance for the practice session which was held yesterday [Sunday] and today [Monday] they will have another opportunity to have practice on it [Astro-turf]," Northmore said at a pre-match conference yesterday.
“The players will try to perform to their maximum ability. Hopefully the result will come as all the players except for Zahid Hossain and Mohammad Ibrahim, who have no major injury problem, are likely available for selection,” added Northmore.
TC Sports Club coach Mohamed Nizam, meanwhile, is optimistic about going to the next round by posting a win in the home match.
"They (Saif SC) are a good side, but we will start with three points in hand and it is not a pressure for us to play on home soil," said Nizam.
