Bengaluru colts go down to Leicester City in PL Next Gen Cup

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC’s opening encounter of the PL Next Gen Cup saw Naushad Moosa’s side go down 6-3 to Leicester City at the Leicester City Academy Grounds, in Loughborough, on Wednesday. The Foxes, who raced to a 6-0 lead through goals from Kian Pennant (13’, 27’), William Alves (18’) and Chris Popov (21’, 52’, 61), were met by a resolute second half performance from the Blue Colts, which saw Sivasakthi Narayanan (67’, 73’) and Damaitphang Lyngdoh (68’) find their name on the scoresheet. 

Moosa’s boys started bright and came close to scoring inside the first five minutes when Bekey Oram’s shot was saved by Arlo Doherty in the Leicester goal. Only minutes later, the hosts took the lead when Popov drove free down the right to find Pennant, whose initial effort was saved by Sharon Padattil, only for the England international to slot home on the rebound. 

Earlier, Damaitphang Lyngdoh, Thoi Singh and Lalremtluanga Fanai were named in midfield by Moosa, with Akashdeep Singh, Thoi Singh and Sivasakthi tasked in the attacking third. At the back, Robin Yadav and Felixson Fernandes marshaled a backline that had Namgyal Bhutia and Clarence Fernandes as fullbacks with Sharon in goal.

Leicester’s second came through Alves, who managed to latch onto a deflected effort to volley goalward and past Sharon. Just past the 20 minute mark, Popov scored his first of the evening, with a heavy deflection off Robin Yadav leaving Sharon rooted as the ball looped over and went in off the upright. Pennant would add another for the Foxes ahead of the break, as the Blue Colts made their way down the tunnel with a 4-0 deficit.

Into the second period, Bengaluru were pegged back again by Popov, who scored his second with a neat finish from the edge of the box. Popov rounded off his hat-trick from the spot after Dipesh Chauhan, on in the second half for Sharon, was adjudged to have fouled the Welshman in the box. 

Despite their 6-0 deficit, the Blue Colts kept pushing and found the net for the first time through Sivasakthi, who slid the ball through Doherty just past the hour mark. Moments later, a set-piece routine saw Leicester clear the ball in a haste, allowing Damaitphang Lyngdoh the opportunity to strike from distance, through a crowd and past Doherty, to make it 6-2. 

Bengaluru refused to relent, and scored again in the 73rd minute when Sivasakthi’s strike from distance evaded Doherty’s dive. Dipesh was called into action once again when Clarence Fernandes, making his competitive debut for the Blue Colts, was adjudged to have brought Pennant down in the box. The winger stepped up, but his spot-kick was saved well by Dipesh, who then proceeded to recover and save the strike on the rebound to keep the score unchanged.

Bengaluru continued to push forward in search of goals, but the referee called time on the proceedings, sending Naushad Moosa’s men towards an encounter for third place, for which the Blue colts will face Nottingham Forest on 30th July, Saturday, at the same venue.

Bengaluru FC come from behind to make Durand Cup semifinals

Bengaluru FC Media 

Bengaluru FC came from behind yet again to defeat Army Green 3-2 in their Durand Cup quarterfinal, at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, on Saturday. Lallawmkima PC (9’) gave the away side the lead in the first half, before goals from Wungngayam Muirang (20’), Leon Augustine (46’) and Namgyal Bhutia (74’) put the Blues ahead. Vibin TV (89’) pulled one back at the end, but Bengaluru held on to win the game.

Earlier, Naushad Moosa made one change to the team that beat Indian Navy 5-3, with Leon replacing Bidyashagar Singh in the attack. The Blues started the game on the front foot and had the first chance of the game when Leon skipped past his marker and sent Sivasakthi Narayanan through on goal, but Army Green goalkeeper Sarath Narayanan was quick to come off his line and block his shot. Minutes later, the services side took the lead at the other end, when Lallawmkima scored from the spot after he was brought down by Ajith Kumar in the box.

Leon found himself free down the right and cut into the box in the 15th minute to find Harmanpreet Singh, who took a couple of touches to make space for himself but shot straight at ’keeper Sarath. Bengaluru got back on level terms soon after, when Leon won a free kick on the right flank. Muirang’s effort beat the wall and the ’keeper, to make it 1-1.

Buoyed by the equaliser, the Blues began to make frequent inroads into the final third, starting with Damaitphang Lyngdoh’s curling effort from the edge of the box that needed Sarath at full stretch to keep the scores level. 

In the 37th minute, Parag Shrivas intercepted a pass and sparked a counter-attack by setting Leon free, who saw the ’keeper come off his line and took a shot that went wide. Minutes later, the 22-year-old initiated another counter after winning the ball in the middle of the pitch. He sent Sivasakthi free down the right and the youngster found Biswa Darjee in the middle, but the midfielder’s touch was too heavy and Sarath was quick to come out and collect the ball.

It took less than a minute into the second half for the Blues to complete the comeback. Leon, who had sparked the comeback against Indian Navy on Tuesday, escaped his markers and, with the ’keeper charging forward, chipped the ball into an empty net to make it 2-1. Less than a minute later, he almost had another goal in a similar fashion but his effort went just wide of the goal this time.

Army Green forward Dip Majumder had two chances in the space of a minute to get his side back on level terms. First, Naorem Roshan Singh timed his sliding challenge well to make a block in the box and later Lara Sharma went low to make a save on the line.

The Blues got their third goal of the game when Biswa found substitute Bhutia in the box, and the forward shot low into the far corner to put Bengaluru 3-1 up. Akashdeep Singh, who had an earlier effort blocked by Sarath, saw his shot deflect off the ’keeper and bounce off the far post. Army Green won another penalty a minute before stoppage time after Robin Yadav brought down Lallawmkima and Vibin TV sent Lara the wrong way to make it 3-2.

The Blues held on to their lead to win the game and seal their spot in the semifinals, where they face FC Goa, on September 29, at the same venue.