Bengaluru round off AFC Cup campaign with 6-2 win over Maziya

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC’s frontmen had a field day at the National Stadium in Male, as Marco Pezzaiuoli’s side ended their AFC Cup campaign with a 6-2 win over Maziya S&RC, on Tuesday. Udanta Singh, Cleiton Silva and Leon Augustine scored first half goals, before strikes from substitutes Sivasakthi Narayanan and Bidyashagar Singh’s brace kept the Blues’ lead intact after Hamza Mohamed and Asadhulla Abdulla had pulled two back for the hosts. 

Earlier, Pezzaiuoli made five changes to the team that was held to a goalless draw by Bashundhara Kings, handing starts to Sarthak Golui, Pratik Chaudhari, Rohit Kumar, Udanta and Leon, while goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu captained the side in the absence of Sunil Chhetri. On the other bench, Risto Vidaković made three changes to the Maziya team that lost to ATK Mohun Bagan.

The Blues started the game on the front foot and broke the deadlock just six minutes from kick-off when Sarthak and Leon combined down the right flank. The eventual cross from the Bengaluru right-back found Udanta arriving in the box, and the winger made no mistake in burying his header to put Bengaluru 1-0 up.

Only moments later, Pezzaiuoli’s men were knocking on the Maziya door again, through Udanta and then Leon. Rane’s attempted cross for Udanta was a yard ahead of him before Udanta’s cross found Leon, but the latter skewed his shot wide.

The Blues scored their second goal in fortuitous circumstances when Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva poked the ball home in the 19th minute. Attempting to collect a long punt, Maziya ’keeper Shareef misjudged the flight of the ball and Silva chased the ball down and scored from close range, past the reach of Shareef. Silva would put the ball in the back of the net once again on the half hour mark, only for the assistant to raise his flag for offside.

Maziya were forced into a change when Shareef was stretchered off and substitute custodian Mamatkhonov Mirzokhid was called into action. Mirzokhid’s first involvement saw him pick the ball from the back of the net, when Leon managed to beat the offside trap and slot home through  the Uzbek ’keeper’s legs to make it 3-0. 

Leon came close to scoring his second of the game on the other side of the break, but Mirzokhid was well positioned to save his effort. Jesus Blanco was alert to make two crucial blocks right after, from Jayesh and Suresh, to deny the Blues a fourth.

Pezzaiuoli rang in the first of his five changes when Danish Farooq replaced Rohit Kumar, and made further substitutions later, sending on Ajay Chhetri, Bidyashagar Singh and Sivasakthi Narayanan. Maziya pulled one back in the 67th minute through Hamza, who beat the offside trap and slotted home past Pratik’s attempted tackle and Gurpreet’s stretch to make it 3-1. However, the Blues responded just three minutes later, as Sivasakthi latched onto a cross from Udanta with a neat touch and finish, for his first goal in Bengaluru colours.

Maziya reduced the deficit once again in the 80th minute, against the run of play, when Abdulla latched onto a pass from Mohamed and slotted home from close range. Udanta had a late chance to add to his exploits, but having controlled well and cut in on his left, his finish was found wanting. Keen to get in on the act, substitute Bidyashagar scored twice in seven minutes, both times from close range, to put the game beyond the reach of Vidakovic’s men. 

The result confirmed a third place finish for Bengaluru, who ended their Group D campaign with four points from three games. The Blues are in action next at the 130th edition of the Durand Cup, having confirmed their participation in the tournament that’s set to take place in Kolkata, in September.

Bengaluru bow out of AFC Cup with a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings

Bengaluru FC Media 

Marco Pezzaiuoli’s Bengaluru FC side bowed out of the reckoning in the group stages of the 2021 AFC Cup, following a goalless draw against Bashundhara Kings, at the National Stadium in Male, on Saturday. The result meant the Blues stayed third in Group D with one point, while Bashundhara climbed to the top with four points, ahead of ATK Mohun Bagan’s late clash against Maziya S&RC.

Pezzaiuoli made three changes to the team that faced ATK Mohun Bagan, with Parag Shrivas, Danish Farooq and Bidyashagar Singh replacing Sarthak Golui, Ajay Chhetri and Udanta Singh. At the other end, Oscar Bruzon fielded an unchanged side from Bashundhara's 2-0 win over Maziya S&RC.

The Blues started the game on the front foot, and the first good chance came with just five minutes on the clock when Danish's lob picked out Bidyashagar's run, and the youngster's shot from the edge of the box was blocked by Bashundhara skipper Topu Barman. Jayesh Rane's effort from the rebound rolled wide.

Bashundhara won a free-kick on the edge of the box in the 15th minute after Danish tripped Barman, but Suresh intercepted Robinho's pass and made sure the set piece came to nothing. Naorem Roshan Singh’s long diagonal in the 21st minute found Cleiton Silva, but the Brazilian’s attempted give and go with Bidyashagar found the winger crowded out by the Bashundhara defence. From that move, the Bangladesh side went on a counter-attack that forced Musavu-King into a tackle that saw him pick up the game’s first yellow card.

Three minutes later, Cleiton’s ball into the box was met by a diving Yrondu Musavu-King, whose header was straight into Bashundhara ’keeper Anisur Rahman’s gloves. At the other end, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu did well to get his palms to Jonathan Reis’ effort from well outside the box, to push away Bashundhara’s hopes of a first half goal.

On the stroke of halftime, Pezzaiuoli made the first substitution of the game, bringing on Sarthak in place of Parag. The Blues then had the final chance before the break, when Tariq Raihan Kazi tugged Cleiton back to give away a freekick and pick up a yellow card. The Brazilian’s effort was blocked and Bidyashagar’s shot from the rebound sailed high and wide.

Bashundhara made a change of their own on the other side of the break as Mohammad Ibrahim replaced Mahbubur Rahman. The visitors came close to taking the lead in the 57th minute through Brazilian winger Robinho, whose effort deflected off Gurpreet’s foot and was sailing goalward until Roshan cleared with an acrobatic effort. The ball almost spun back in before Gurpreet pushed away with an outstretched arm.

Attacking with intent, the Blues came close on several occasions. Cleiton skipped past his marker in the 72nd minute and saw his low cross was blocked by Topu. Only minutes later, Alan Costa’s header from Cleiton’s corner deflected off the underside of the bar and bounced on the goal line, before ’keeper Anisur managed to collect.

The Blues had a flurry of late chances as they looked to break the deadlock, with Cleiton involved in the thick of things. The Brazilian’s deflected shot was pushed away by Anisur in the 82nd minute, and Chhetri was first to get the rebound. With the ’keeper off his line, Chhetri found Rane unmarked, but the midfielder’s effort was blocked by Topu. Minutes later, Leon tried to turn Kazi in the box but the defender stood his ground and did enough to block the winger’s attempted shot.

Pezzaiuoli’s final throw of the dice saw B-Team graduate Sivasakthi Narayanan make his debut, replacing Suresh, but it wasn’t enough as both sides took a point each in their penultimate group stage game. 

The Blues will be back in action on August 24, at the same venue, when they take on Maziya S&RC in their final Group D game.

Bengaluru FC squad for AFC Cup playoff clash against Club Eagles, Maldives

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC, on Monday, announced their 29-man squad for the 2021 AFC Cup playoff against Maldivian side Club Eagles, on August 15. Skipper Sunil Chhetri will lead the side, which includes as many as seven new signings. 

Defenders Alan Costa, Yrondu Musavu-King and Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva make up the Blues’ foreign contingent, which also features six new Indian signings in Harmanpreet Singh, Jayesh Rane, Bidyashagar Singh, Sarthak Golui, Danish Farooq and Rohit Kumar.

The graduates from the club’s reserve side include goalkeeper Sharon Padattil, midfielder Muhammad Inayath, as well as strikers Akashdeep Singh and Sivasakthi Narayanan, who finished as top scorer in the Blues’ BDFA Super Division League campaign.

The Blues’ playoff clash against Club Eagles will take place at the National Stadium, in Maldives, on August 15. Victory in the playoff will send the Blues into Group D, which includes Indian Super League side ATK Mohun Bagan, Bashundhara Kings (Bangladesh) and Maziya S&RC (Maldives).

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Lara Sharma, Sharon Padattil

Defenders: Pratik Chaudhari, Wungngayam Muirang, Ajith Kumar, Ashique Kuruniyan, Parag Shrivas, Yrondu Musavu-King, Biswa Darjee, Alan Costa, Sarthak Golui

Midfielders: Suresh Wangjam, Namgyal Bhutia, Jayesh Rane, Danish Farooq, Rohit Kumar, Muhammad Inayath, Ajay Chhetri

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh, Cleiton Silva, Leon Augustine, Naorem Roshan Singh, Bidyashagar Singh, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Akashdeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh

Head Coach: Marco Pezzaiuoli

Assistant Coach: Naushad Moosa

 

 

Bengaluru sign Thai League 1 all-time leading scorer Silva

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC have signed versatile Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva on a one-year deal with the club having the option to extend it by another year, the Blues announced on Saturday. The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent a better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China. 

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League. His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club. 

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn’t materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move. “I’ve signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion, and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now, because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city,” said Silva. 

Silva becomes Bengaluru’s first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals to Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu. 

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva’s addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring. “Cleiton has a proven track-record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we’re looking forward to working with him.”

 

“Cleiton is a player we had been tracking closely through last season and even Carles believed we should bring him to Bengaluru when the chance arises. We’re glad that things fell in place and that he is now part of our charge for the coming season,” said club CEO, Mandar Tamhane.