It will most likely be the toughest tie for Abahani Limited this season in their first ever match in North Korea but the Sky Blues are determined to carry on their fine form in the AFC Cup 2019 when they face Korean champions 4.25 SC in the second leg of the Inter-Zone semifinals on Tuesday.
The game kicks off at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in DPR Korean capital Pyongyang at 3pm Bangladesh Time. The winners of the tie will face either Altyn Asyr of Turkmenistan or Hanoi FC of Vietnam in the Inter-Zone final next month.
A draw would be enough for Abahani to make one more history and qualify for the Inter-Zone final after winning the nail-biting home leg 4-3 in Dhaka last Wednesday but 4.25’s away goals along with their home records might make the job difficult for the visiting side.
Six-time BPL champion Abahani Limited handed 18-time North Korean winner 4.25 SC a big surprise with a 4-3 defeat in a mouth-watering encounter in the first leg of the @theafcdotcom Cup 2019 Inter-Zone semi at Bangabandhu National Stadium Wednesday.https://t.co/ZNsW8arU28#AFC
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 21, 2019
April 4.25, the last edition’s finalist, have never lost at home in the continental competition and they conceded none there during the group-round fixtures this season but Abahani can take inspiration from Bengaluru FC of India and Altyn Asyr who managed draw in the DPR Korean capital during the knockout stages in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Abahani have been enjoying a goal-galore season both in domestic and international meets as they scored 17 goals in the AFC Cup so far with Sunday Chizoba netting a brace and Nabib Newaz Jibon and Sohel Rana adding one apiece in the home tie. Portuguese head coach Mario Lemos set one of the main targets for his in-form attacking line-ups is to get a goal in Pyongyang and get a good result.
O Yun Sun, the head coach of North Korean champion 4.25, confessed in the post-match press conference that they didn’t understand the style of football Abahani Limited would offer.https://t.co/PMUQihB4uu#ABAHANI #FOOTBALL #BANGLADESH #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #ABAHANILIMITED #LIMITED
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 22, 2019
“Winning is a very powerful thing and after the win at Dhaka, our confidence has gone up. We scored four goals in the match. We know it's going to be tough but we want to get to the (Inter-Zone) final. And for that, we need a good result in Pyongyang,” said Lemos quoted by the-AFC before leaving Dhaka.
Lemos’s defensive force would be boosted by the inclusion of tall Egyptian center-back Alaaeldin Nasr Elsayed Eissa who missed the first leg due to one-match suspension and ready to make his Abahani debut but midfielder Mamunul Islam, who also missed the home tie due to injury, was still uncertain ahead of the crucial tie.
4.25’s attacking force is also likely to be strengthened up with the return of their AFC Cup top scorer Kim Yu-song and 2018’s top scorer An Il-bom in the starting line-up. Both made substitute appearance in Dhaka and helped the side to reduce the deficit.
Abahani midfielder Sohel Rana has been named the winner of the @theafcdotcom Cup 2019 Goal of the Week after his stunner in the AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-final first leg against North Koran outfit 4.25 SC Wednesday night at Bangabandhu National Stadium.https://t.co/a5lhpJJoM2#AFC
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) August 23, 2019
Abahani played with an unusual formation of 5-3-2 in the opening leg and Lemos hinted not to take “too many risks” for the away leg as well. “We realise that we can't win merely by defending. Although we played five at the back in the last match, we also wanted to counter attack. Hopefully, 4.25 will take some risks and that will open up spaces for us to counter and get some goals of our own.