Rishab scored a stoppage-time equaliser as a 10-man Bengaluru FC rallied to pull off a 1-1 draw against Ozone FC Bengaluru in a BDFA Super Division League game at the Bangalore Football Stadium here on Tuesday.
Appearing headed towards their first defeat in five games, Bengaluru earned a suprise reward when Ozone FC’s Gopi K handled the ball inside the box just seconds from the final whistle. Referee Balasubramanyama immediately pointed to the box and Rishab duly stepped up and converted to help the Blues stay atop the league.
Fielding nine academy players, BFC colts produced a good passing game, impressing coach Louis Nickson. While they controlled the game well, it was Ozone FC however that broke into halftime the happier lot with Anto Xavier scoring in the first minute of stoppage time.
In the second half, the Blues applied pressure on the Ozone defence with full-back Prashanth Kalinga combining well down the flank with Vishal. All that pressure resulted in nothing as the forwards kept squandering chance after chance.
And it seemed like BFC would go home punished when Vishal was sent off in the 82nd minute for a flailing arm. Undeterred by the disadvantage, BFC rallied to win a penalty in the dying moments and eke out a draw.
In the ‘A’ Division championships, ADE scored a thumping 4-1 victory over LRDE. While both sides could not be separated in the first half, a solid performance from ADE in the second half sealed the game.
Prem opened the scoring in the 52nd minute and Richard added another five minutes later. LRDE though scored a quick goal to show semblance of a comeback but Richard (63rd) and Antony (69th) sealed the game for ADE.
Results: Super Division: Ozone FC Bengaluru: 1 (Anto Xavier 45+1) dew with Bengaluru FC: 1 (Rishab 90+4). ‘A’ Division: ADE: 4 (Prem 52nd, Richard 57th, 63rd, Antony 69th) bt LRDE: 1 (Ravi 58th).
Published 12 January 2016, 20:04 IST