Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC cupped off a perfect debut match in the fourth edition of the Indian Super League with a 2-0 victory over Mumbai City at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday. It could not have been a better start for the ISL newbies, playing in front of their home crowd and they dominated the proceedings right from the word go.
Spanish defender Edu Garcia opened the scoring, while captain Sunil Chhetri put the cherry on the ice, two minutes into extra time, following a miscommunication in the Mumbai defence.
Playing for the first time in the rigorous atmosphere of the ISL, the home side looked far better than their more fancied opposition. Both sides though looked vulnerable in the initial minutes, but Bengaluru adapted better and Mumbai City had to resort to harsh tackles to stop the opposition’s attacks.
‘The Blues’ had as many as four corners in the first half and could have gone ahead thrice, with Udanta, Chhetri and Lenny Rodrigues all missing their chances. A great cross by Miku in the 23rd minute, saw Chhetri nearly score, with his flick going inches over the bar.
Nonetheless with 62% ball possession and six shots on the target the opening half the match, belonged to the home team with Mumbai unable to match the midfield and pace in the wings.
It was a much better show by the away side ain the second-half, with Ruidas sending in some mouth-watering crosses from the right flank. Bengaluru however continued from where they had left off and made their opening mark in the ISL in the 67th minute, when Edu Garcia scored with a powerful shot that kept low, following a clever corner.
The goal seemed to have open up more space for the Albert Roca managed side as Miku had a couple of good chances, to double the lead. The former Getafe player had a glorious chance to score in 78th minute, one on one with Mumbai custodian Amrinder Singh, but shot straight at the goalie.
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri was brilliant throughout the match and created some wonderful chances across the two halves. He could have well got on the scoresheet in the 83rd minute but failed to do so and was eventually booked for diving. He did have his redemption two minutes into extra time, following a comedy of errors by the Mumbai defence.
Gurpreet send a powerful shot from the D which could have been easily collected by Amrinder, but a miss- communication between the custodian and defender Wadoo, laid the ball for a lurking Chhetri and he made no mistake, sending the crowd into ruptures.
It was however a disappointing match for ‘The Islanders’ who could not create any substantial chance for whole of the match. Their midfield lacked the bite and failed to test the opposition goalie, with most of their shots coming from outside the six-yard box. The injury of Leo Costa early into the match, did not help their cause either and coach Alexandre Guimarães will hope his boys leave the match behind as soon as possible and prepare for the next Match at home.