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A goal at the start and at the end sealed Bengaluru FC’s third away victory on the trot with Sunil Chhetri and Namgyal Bhutia getting on the scoresheet.
Bengaluru FC did not require long to open their account in this game, as a failed Ashique through ball fell kindly for Sunil Chhetri at the top of the box, who buried it past FC Goa’s Tiwari towards the bottom corner in the 3rd minute.
Ashique came close in the 24th minute, after Braian intercepted a pass in his own half to release Ashique down the left flank, who cut back inside before firing his shot wide of the post.
Bengaluru FC defended as a unit in the 36th minute as FC Goa hit the post from a corner, and the BFC defenders handled the situation with two blocks to keep the Gaurs at bay.
The rest of the first half remained a cagey affair, with Bengaluru FC heading into the tunnel with a 1-0 lead at the break.
No changes for either side as the second half began. Ryan Williams opened space for himself on the right flank with a beautiful dummy, before finding Suresh in the middle of the box, whose powerful shot was deflected over the goal by FC Goa’s defender in the 52nd minute.
After the second batch of substitutions, Bengaluru FC were playing with an all-Indian lineup for the final quarter of the game.
With the scoreline unchanged, FC Goa kept piling pressure on the Benglauru FC defence, but found it tough to break down a low block, and were left to contend with swift counterattacks on transitions for much of the second half.
Late in the second half, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu came in clutch with a diving save to keep out a close-range header, following a cross from the left flank.
The match was far from over, as the trio of subs combined with Monirul flicking a header onto Fanai, who found Bhutia on the right wing, Bhutia obliged with a cracking finish across the goal to seal a 2-0 away win for Bengaluru FC!
