Bengaluru FC enter Durand Cup knockouts with 2-2 draw against FC Goa

Bengaluru FC Media

Sunil Chhetri and Sivasakthi Narayanan were on target for Bengaluru FC in a 2-2 draw against FC Goa, in a Group A encounter of the 2022 Durand Cup at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Tuesday. The Blues, who took a two-goal lead into the break, came up against a resilient Goa side in the second period, who drew level through strikes from Phrangki Buam and Lesly Rebello.

Earlier, Blues’ Head Coach Simon Grayson handed starts to goalkeeper Amrit Gope and Prince Ibara as summer signing Javi Hernandez joined Jayesh Rane on the bench. Bengaluru had won their opening two matches of the tournament against Jamshedpur FC (2-1) and Indian Air Force FT (4-0), and needed just a point to attain an unassailable lead in the group.

 

Bengaluru started strong and controlled proceedings for much of the opening minutes before Ibara pulled up with an injury, forcing Grayson into making an early change, replacing the Congolese international with Narayanan.

The Blues opened the scoring through skipper Chhetri, who dispatched an inch-perfect free-kick past Goa custodian Hrithik Tiwari in the 24th minute to make it 1-0. Only moments later, Sivasakthi doubled the Bengaluru lead, tapping home a knock-down from Udanta Singh after Bruno Ramires had found the winger in the box with a ball over the Goa defense.

 

Bengaluru took the 2-0 lead into the break and came out with one more change in personnel as Jayesh Rane marked his return from injury, replacing Ramires. Grayson’s side had several chances to add to their lead within minutes of the restart, but efforts from Parag Shrivas, Danish Farooq and Sivasakthi were dealt with by the visitors.

 

Against the run of play, Goa pulled one back when Rohit Kumar’s stray pass found winger Phrangki, who rounded Gope and slotted home to make it 2-1. Rohit almost made amends at the other end, when he ran onto Sivasakthi’s pass and got a shot away but Tiwari pushed it onto the woodwork with a fantastic save.

 

Goa scored the equalizer just past the hour mark when Amrit failed to deal with a cross from the right, allowing Lesly Rebello to slot home from close range to make it 2-2. Bengaluru made further changes, with Hernandez, Faisal Ali and Leon Augustine making their way onto the pitch.

 

Bengaluru pushed forward in search of a winner, but it wasn’t to be as the visitors held fort to see out the rest of the encounter. The Blues next face Group A leaders Mohammedan SC at the same venue, on August 2nd.

Bengaluru begin Durand Cup campaign with Jamshedpur challenge

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC Head Coach Simon Grayson will take charge of his side for the first time as they take on Jamshedpur FC in their opening encounter of the 2022 Durand Cup, at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Wednesday. The Blues are making their third appearance at the Durand Cup, having previously bowed out of the tournament at the quarterfinal (2014) and semifinal (2021) stages.

“We’re really excited to take part in a competition that has a rich history and tradition associated with it. This is a part of our pre-season preparation, ahead of the Indian Super League, but we want to give a good account of ourselves. Playing the Durand Cup means our season will take place over a longer period this year, and we will have to make sure that we strike a right balance to maintain the fitness of all our players through the campaign,” said Grayson, ahead of the encounter.

Bengaluru’s squad for the Durand Cup includes new signings Prabir Das, Roy Krishna, Sandesh Jhingan, Javi Hernandez, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Hira Mondal, Amrit Gope and Faisal Ali, who are also part of the group of players that arrived in Kolkata on Sunday.

“We have some exciting new players and a group of really good youngsters who have come through the Academy as well. We want them to play together for as many minutes as possible, so that they can gel well and get to understand each other in a competitive environment,” added Grayson.

Jamshedpur FC, led by Youth Team coach Indranil Chakraborty, are set to field a team comprising youngsters, including India U20 goalkeeper Mohit Singh Dhami, who most recently won the U20 SAFF Championship, in Bhubaneswar.

“We’re aware that Jamshedpur FC and some other teams have registered a development squad for this tournament. We did the same last year and our youngsters did exceptionally well. We want to approach this tournament with our first team as it gives us an opportunity to be ready for what is going to be a tough season,” Grayson added.

Kick-off between the Blues and Jamshedpur FC is scheduled for 2.30 pm and will be telecast on the Sports18 network, with live streaming available on VOOT Select and Jio TV.

 

Bengaluru FC announce 25-man squad for 131st Durand Cup

Bengaluru FC Media

Bengaluru FC, on Monday, announced their 25-man squad for the 131st edition of the Durand Cup, set to begin with a clash against Jamshedpur FC at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Wednesday. Simon Grayson’s side, having wrapped up a three week preseason camp at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary, landed in the City of Joy on Sunday. 

As many as eight new signings feature in the Blues’ squad for the tournament, with Roy Krishna, Prabir Das, Javi Hernandez, Sandesh Jhingan, Faisal Ali, Hira Mondal, Aleksandar Jovanovic and Amrit Gope making the list. Bengaluru went down on penalties to eventual champions FC Goa with a squad comprising youngsters and no foreigners, in their most recent appearance at the Durand Cup.

Bengaluru have been drawn alongside Jamshepdur FC, FC Goa, Indian Air Force FT and Mohammedan SC in Group A, with the top two teams from each group set to make it through to the knockout rounds.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lara Sharma, Amrit Gope

Defenders: Alan Costa, Namgyal Bhutia, Parag Shrivas, Wungngayam Muirang, Prabir Das, Hira Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Aleksandar Jovanovic

Midfielders: Bruno Ramires, Jayesh Rane, Suresh Wangjam, Danish Farooq, Rohit Kumar, Biswa Darjee, Javi Hernandez

Strikers: Sunil Chhetri (C), Prince Ibara, Udanta Singh, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Leon Augustine, Roy Krishna, Faisal Ali