BENGALURU: The determination of the Bengaluru FC players to succeed is on full show in this season’s Indian Super League . On Friday, 10-man BFC defended with all their might in for more than 30 minutes to hold on to their 1-0 lead and take full points against Punjab FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here.
It was their fourth win of the season, that helped them grab a four-point lead at the top, thanks to Roshan Singh’s first-half strike in a feisty contest, which saw tackles flying in thick and fast right from the start.
Punjab’s plan was quite evident early on, to have a crack at goal whenever a chance arrived in the top of the table clash. Their first real attempt came in the sixth minute when midfielder Nikhil Prabhu tried to surprise home goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu from the halfway line. It was an easy grab and a few minutes later skipper Filip Mrzljak tried another from outside the box. There were some other audacious long rangers too in the first half.
Despite the lion’s share of possession in the first 25 minutes, Bengaluru FC, in their pink kit, did not even test the visitors goalkeeper Ravi Kumar. Their best move came in the 20th minute when Roshan’s strike inside the box was tackled by the Punjab defenders, who were on their toes once again after Suresh Singh’s effort met a similar fate.
But they finally broke the deadlock after Pereyra Diaz’s cross found Roshan inside the box and he smashed it home in the 43rd minute. There was a sigh of relief in the BFC bench, which had a pensive look until then.
Early in the second half, a beautiful team move that involved Sunil Chhetri, who came off from the bench in place of Rohit Danu, almost resulted in a goal with Alberto Noguera’s shot missing the target from outside the box.
With around half an hour left to play, Bengaluru defender Chinglensana Konsham was sent off for his second yellow. It was a test of character for the home team from then on with Punjab enjoying more possession.
One man down and the tables turned with Bengaluru defending in numbers. Even when they received the ball, there were not many players in space upfront to make the run.
Punjab came close to an equaliser when Mushaga Bakenga’s strike hit the bar in the 74th minute. Despite a few chances, Punjab failed to equalise, but the credit needs to go to the home team players, who put their bodies on the line at the back to emerge victorious to ensure another clean sheet.
It was their fourth win of the season, that helped them grab a four-point lead at the top, thanks to Roshan Singh’s first-half strike in a feisty contest, which saw tackles flying in thick and fast right from the start.
Punjab’s plan was quite evident early on, to have a crack at goal whenever a chance arrived in the top of the table clash. Their first real attempt came in the sixth minute when midfielder Nikhil Prabhu tried to surprise home goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu from the halfway line. It was an easy grab and a few minutes later skipper Filip Mrzljak tried another from outside the box. There were some other audacious long rangers too in the first half.
Despite the lion’s share of possession in the first 25 minutes, Bengaluru FC, in their pink kit, did not even test the visitors goalkeeper Ravi Kumar. Their best move came in the 20th minute when Roshan’s strike inside the box was tackled by the Punjab defenders, who were on their toes once again after Suresh Singh’s effort met a similar fate.
But they finally broke the deadlock after Pereyra Diaz’s cross found Roshan inside the box and he smashed it home in the 43rd minute. There was a sigh of relief in the BFC bench, which had a pensive look until then.
Early in the second half, a beautiful team move that involved Sunil Chhetri, who came off from the bench in place of Rohit Danu, almost resulted in a goal with Alberto Noguera’s shot missing the target from outside the box.
With around half an hour left to play, Bengaluru defender Chinglensana Konsham was sent off for his second yellow. It was a test of character for the home team from then on with Punjab enjoying more possession.
One man down and the tables turned with Bengaluru defending in numbers. Even when they received the ball, there were not many players in space upfront to make the run.
Punjab came close to an equaliser when Mushaga Bakenga’s strike hit the bar in the 74th minute. Despite a few chances, Punjab failed to equalise, but the credit needs to go to the home team players, who put their bodies on the line at the back to emerge victorious to ensure another clean sheet.
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