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Bengaluru FC had some good lessons learnt as they went down 0-4 to West Ham United in their second Group B fixture at the PL Next Gen Cup at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai on Saturday. A first half strike from Dan Rigge (22′) was followed by three second half strikes from Favour Fawunmi (48′), Blaise Owandji (65′) and Lewis Orford (73′) to cap off a comprehensive win for Lauris Coggin’s side.
Ahead of the game, Bengaluru FC head coach Kaizad Ambapardiwala made one change to the lineup that started Wednesday’s game against Stellenbosch FC, with Taorem Kelvin Singh replacing Akashdeep Singh in the starting eleven.
It was the Junior Hammers who had the first shot at taking the lead in the 3rd minute, when Clarence Fernandes’ pass out from the back deflected off Rigge and into the path of George Earthy, who beat Harpreet but saw his shot saved by Sharon Padattil.
A similar move saw Coggin’s side take the lead in the 22nd minute when they intercepted an attempt to play out from the back by Bengaluru. Shighil was beaten to the ball by Archie Woods whose pass to Rigge saw the forward calmly slot the ball past Sharon to give his side the advantage.
Clarence Fernandes proved to be a rock at the back for Ambapardiwala’s men, ensuring time and again that the Blue Colts only remained a goal down despite the advances of Coggin’s boys.
Into the second period, West Ham doubled their lead in the 48th minute as Rigge turned assister, setting up Fawunmi on the left, who drilled his left-footed shot well past the reach of Sharon.
Bengaluru continued to knock on the door as Thoi Singh tested Mason Terry with the winger’s powerful strike from the edge of the box palmed away by the Hammers’ goalkeeper. Minutes later, Harmanpreet forced another save from Terry as the forward’s attempt on goal from the edge of the box was parried away for a corner.
The Hammers went on to add another to their tally when Blaise Uwandji struck home in the 65th minute. Lewis Orford came off the bench to add a fourth in the final minute of the game to seal the three points on the night for the Junior Hammers.
Bengaluru FC will face ATK Mohun Bagan in their next fixture, on Tuesday, May 23.
