[AFC Cup] Bengaluru beat Abahani 4-0, make it to knockout stage

Bengaluru FC Media 

It took a bit of everything – a boss-like show in Dhaka, drama in Guwahati, a big push from a resolute Aizawl FC side as Bengaluru FC finished as champions of the South Zone, and finally booked a place in the knock-out stages of the AFC Cup for a fourth straight season. 

Goals from Daniel Segovia (13’), Nishu Kumar (16’, 58’) and Sunil Chhetri (60’) gave the Blues a 4-0 win over Abahani Limited Dhaka. But it was the game in Guwahati that would decide Bengaluru’s fate where Aizawl who needed to beat New Radiant or hold the Maldivian side to a draw for Bengaluru to go through. And the Santosh Kashyap-coached side chose the three-point route to aid the Blues, beating New Radiant 2-1. 

The water-logged pitch from overnight showers looked like giving Bengaluru FC trouble, but two quick goals in a span of three minutes dispelled any such worries for Albert Roca. Playing a slightly heavy version of their free-flowing brand of football, the Blues shot into the lead when Chhetri rolled the ball perfectly across the face of the goal, leaving Segovia with the simple job of scoring past Abahani ’keeper Sahidul Alam to make it 1-0. 

Chhetri then squirmed past two blue Abahani shirts to tee up Nishu who slammed the ball low to the corner and beyond Alam. The two early blows were enough to prompt Abahani into submission as Bengaluru hogged possession and began camping in the hosts’ final third. 

Chhetri then completed a hat-trick of assists when he chipped over the Abahani defence for Nishu to fantastically control the ball on his chest before firing home from close to make it 3-0. The skipper finally got into the act on the hour mark when Alam spilled a cross that fell to Chhetri who scored his 24th goal of the season with a simple finish after holding off a defender. 

Elsewhere in Aizawl where everyone who had anything to do with Bengaluru FC had their eyes on, Leonce Dodoz gave the hosts a 61st minute lead that Romanian Andrei Ionescu doubled in the 82nd minute. New Radiant needed three goals to keep their hopes of making the knock-out stages alive and Ibrahim Hassan began the fight with an 85th minute strike. But Aizawl, with nothing to play for in Group E, clung on to the lead that sent the squad in Dhaka in raptures. 

A draw process that involves four zones – Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and ASEAN - will determine Bengaluru’s next opponents. While three group winners have been decided, the final of the ASEAN Zone is yet to take place.

[AFC Cup] Must win game for Bengaluru against Abahani; hoping for favor from Aizawl against New Radiant

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC will hope for the rub of the green to go their way at more than one venue on Wednesday, when they take on Abahani Limited Dhaka, at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, in Bangladesh, in their final Group E game of the 2018 AFC Cup.

Albert Roca’s men need a win while hoping Aizawl FC claim a point or more against New Radiant SC in Group E’s other fixture, if they are to stand a chance of qualifying for knock-out stages of the Cup for a fourth successive year. Meanwhile, the Maldivian side simply need to match Bengaluru FC’s result, as a better goal difference in the head-to-head comparison between the two sides will pull New Radiant through.

“It’s true that we are in a position where a win may not be enough to qualify, but it has been made clear to the players that we have to remain focused on the task ahead. We cannot take Abahani (Limited Dhaka) lightly, as they are a team with some good players and we have seen that in our travels here before,” said Roca, speaking to the press on the eve of the clash.

Bengaluru’s only previous visit to Dhaka ended in defeat to the Bangladeshi side in the group stages of last year’s AFC Cup campaign with late goals from Saad Uddin and Rubel Miya handing Roca’s men a 2-0 loss. In a more recent meeting between the sides, Daniel Lalhlimpuia scored a 72nd minute winner at the Kanteerava Stadium in March as the Blues began their continental campaign.

The Saiful Bari Titu-coached Abahani side are out of contention for the knockout stages and have won just one of their five games so far this campaign, a 3-0 away victory in Aizawl - their only win across all competitions in the last four months - but Roca believes there is no room for complacency.

“We have always had close games against Abahani Dhaka, as they are difficult to break down and play a different style of football. The conditions in Bangladesh are also quite different from what we are used to, so we will have to be wary if we are to do well and take anything away from this game,” the Spaniard said.

Bengaluru were dealt a late blow when winger Boithang Haokip suffered an injury that kept him out of the traveling squad while right-back Nishu Kumar has joined the team from Kolkata, where he was in action with the club’s reserve squad against Mohammedan Sporting in the 2nd Division League. Meanwhile, Abahani will be missing the services of midfielder Mohammad Fahad, along with the Nigerian duo of attacker Sunday Chizoba and defender Ndukaku Alison who are all suspended.

The game in Dhaka kicks off at 7.15 pm local time (6.45 pm IST) and can be streamed live on the AFC Cup Facebook page. 

Abahani strike late to beat Bengaluru

Bengaluru FC Media 

Failure to put simple chances away came back to bite Bengaluru FC who were handed a 2-0 defeat to Abahani Limited Dhaka in a Group E game of the AFC Cup at the Bangabandhu Stadium, in Dhaka, on Tuesday. Late goals from substitute Saad Uddin (87) and Rubel Miya (90+2) saw the Blues suffer their first defeat in the competition this season and Roca’s men now have their task cut out if they are to make the knock-out stages of the competition.

Roca, having rested key players on the weekend, handed starts to Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Sunil Chhetri, CK Vineeth, Cameron Watson and John Johnson. With a 3-5-2 system that saw Harmanjot Khabra and Nishu Kumar deployed as wing-backs, the Blues looked to contain the Abahani attack while pressing for the opener.

The Blues went at the Abahani defence from the get go, winning a corner in the very first minute, while applying pressure on the home side throughout the first half. John Johnson’s early header went straight at Abahani ’keeper Sahidul Sohel before Nishu’s run and strike failed to hit the target at the half hour mark.

Bengaluru’s best chance of the half came when Eugeneson Lyngdoh’s corner met the head of skipper Sunil Chhetri but the effort, once again, was easy pickings for the Abahani custodian.

Abahani, for their part, looked far more comfortable than the nervous side that went down 2-0 to Bengaluru away from home. Rubel Miya left Nishu behind to send a cross in but Mohammad Nasir’s effort was wide of Amrinder’s frame. The sides went into the break with all to play for but it was the Blues that came out with more intent in the second half.

Roca sent on Alwyn George for Vineeth while Daniel Lalhlimpuia replaced Nishu in a tactical change. Switching to a back four to add to Bengaluru’s attack, Alwyn pulled the strings behind Lalhlimpuia and had his first shot moments after the restart.

Both substitutes had big chances but Alwyn was guilty of not putting away the easier of the two in the 72ndminute. Chhetri did well to keep the ball in play down the left and served the perfect cut-back from the tightest of angles only to see Alwyn blaze his shot over from close.

Bengaluru were handed a big advantage eleven minutes from time when Mohammad Nasir’s deliberate hand-ball earned the Abahani player his second booking of the game to reduce the hosts to ten men. Looking to make most of the extra man, Roca’s final substitution of the night saw the Spaniard throw in striker Len Doungel for Khabra.

But it was Abahani who landed the killer blow in the 87th minute when Saad Uddin tapped home a cross on the volley to give the hosts a lead that Bengaluru couldn’t do much to erase. The Blues then conceded a second in additional time when goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, high up on the pitch to put the ball back in play from a Bengaluru corner, was robbed off the ball by Rubel Miya who ran a few yards with it before chipping into an empty goal from distance.

Earlier, in the Group’s other game, Maziya S&RC knocked Mohun Bagan out of the completion with a 5-2 result in the Maldives to make the race to the knock-out stages one that goes down to the wire.

Bengaluru travel to Cuttack next, where they begin their Federation Cup campaign with a clash against Shillong Lajong at the Barabati Stadium, on Monday.