JOIN USBengaluru seal final spot
Bengaluru FC saw off some late drama to beat I-League champions Aizawl FC and book their place in the final of the Federation Cup here on Sunday.
After Cameron Watson scored from the spot in the eighth minute to give Bengaluru the lead, goalkeeper Amrinder Singh ensured that their script was not altered, saving a penalty in the last minute of additional time (90+7) to take his side through to the summit tie.
Bengaluru will take on Mohun Bagan in the final on May 21. The Mariners beat East Bengal 2-0 in their last four tie with Darryl Duffy (35th minute) and Balwant Singh (85th minute) scoring for them. With captain Sunil Chhetri ruled out with a muscle injury, Roca handed CK Vineeth a start as striker ahead of Len Doungel while Eugeneson Lyngdoh returned to side after a suspension.
Bengaluru started on the offense with shots from Vineeth and Lyngdoh saved by goalkeeper Albino Gomes before a tackle from Kingsley Eze on Alwyn George prompted referee to point to the spot. Watson, stepping up in the absence of Chhetri, made no mistake as he slotted past Gomes to score his first goal for Bengaluru and give Roca’s side an early lead.
Bengaluru pushed forward and almost found a second when Alwyn sent Vineeth through on goal but Kingsley recovered to make the tackle before the Kerala man could get a shot away.
Bengaluru’s best chance of the half came from Watson once again. The Australian curved a shot past the Aizawl defence only to see it cannon back into play off the post for Lyngdoh’s effort on the rebound to find its way into the hands of Gomes.
Roca brought in Cornell Glen for Vineeth a little beyond the hour mark and the Trinidadian was a handful for the Aizawl defence who found his strength tough to deal with. Infusing a little pace, Bengaluru then brought on Udanta Singh and the youngster always looked a threat on the counter.
Glen came close in the 89th minute when after being picked out by a pass from Harmanjot Khabra, he lost his man with a feint only to see his curled effort with the left roll wide.
Bengaluru were made to deal with drama at the end when Jhingan’s foul on Bayi Kamo prompted the referee to award Aizawl a penalty in the seventh minute of added time. Chullova stepped up to take the spot-kick but Amrinder guessed right to make the save in what was the very last action of the game.
Later in the day, Bagan looked the better side against East Bengal and deservedly took the lead in the 35th minute when Duffy’s deft header off a Sony Norde cross crept into the back of the net.
The Mariners then scored their second in the 84th minute through Balwant, who scored from inside the box after collecting a good pass from Katsumi Yusa.