JOIN USBangalore Independent clinched second place in the BDFA ‘B’ Division league after they beat Southern Blues in the final match of the tournament here at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Sunday.
Bangalore Independent beat Southern Blues 2-1 to leapfrog Oriental and end the league as runners-up to Tilak Memorial, who were already confirmed as the winners on Saturday.
Tilak Memorial signed off with 28 points from 11 matches, Independent finished on 25 while Oriental were at 24.
Starting the match on a positive note, Independent opened the scoring in the 22nd minute through Zabiulla and then doubled their lead in the 50th minute when Edwin latched onto a through pass from Ravi Babu to slot the ball past the keeper Sanjoy.
Southern Blues showed a lot of intent in the second half and duly pulled a goal back, courtesy Aditya KV’s strike in the 54th minute. However, despite applying pressure on their opponents in the dying minutes, they could not find a way to equalise as Independent held on for a hard-fought win.
Later in the day, Independent beat Tilak Memorial 1-0 in an exhibition match between the top two teams. Nixson scored the only goal of the game from the spot in the 20th minute to give the runners-up a boost in confidence as both the teams head to the ‘A’ Division.
The three teams to be relegated to the ‘C’ Division are Nationals, South Western Railway and Royals.
Results: Bangalore Independents: 2 (Zabiulla 22nd, Edwin 50th) bt Southern Blues: 1 (Aditya KV 54th).