Match Report: Late penalty sinks Bengaluru FC at home in clash of debutants

The loss means that the Blues have suffered back-to-back defeats at their Kanteerava fortress.
Match Report: Late penalty sinks Bengaluru FC at home in clash of debutants
Match Report: Late penalty sinks Bengaluru FC at home in clash of debutants
Written by:

Bengaluru FC missed the chance to go top of the ISL table after an injury-time penalty consigned the Blues to a second straight defeat against Jamshedpur FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Thursday.

Jamshedpur midfielder Trindade Goncalves calmly converted the penalty after defender Rahul Bheke brought down Sameehg Doutie as he was sprinting into the box. The game, which was evenly matched until the penalty incident, left a bitter taste for Bengaluru as the Blues were keen to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat against Chennaiyin FC at home.

The loss means that the Blues have suffered back-to-back defeats at their fortress. Prior to the loss to Chennaiyin FC, Bengaluru FC had not lost at home for ten months. Both Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur are making their debut in the ISL. 

The defeat sees Bengaluru FC remain in second position in the table with 12 points while Jamshedpur jumped to sixth place with nine points. Jamshedpur, which has gained a reputation for their rock-solid defence, have conceded only once in their ISL debut season so far.

Both teams made a cautious start to the game with very few clear-cut chances in the first 45 minutes. Bengaluru FC midfielder Edu Garcia went closest to scoring with a curling effort from the edge of the area.

The game opened up in the second half with chances at both ends. Blues keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu fended off danger twice from Farukh Choudhary and Bikas Jairu early in the second half, while Sunil Chhetri twice came close to scoring. Jamshedpur keeper Subrata Paul was kept busy effecting saves, as the game appeared to be petering out to a 0-0 draw.

The game’s defining moment came in the 90th minute when Doutie’s trademark run down the left channel was not picked up by the Bengaluru defence and ended in a penalty after a foul by Rahul Bheke. 

Jamshedpur celebrated only their second win in the ISL while Bengaluru will now look to resurrect their campaign. They will take on Kerala Blasters in an away game on New Year’s Eve before returning to the Kanteerava stadium to face Atletico de Kolkata on January 7.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com