Bangalore: Skipper Sunil Chhetri struck twice to help Bengaluru FC beat Shillong Lajong 2-1 in a thrilling 12th round match of the Airtel I-League here today.
With this win at the Bangalore Football Stadium, Bengaluru FC kept their unbeaten record at home intact while Shillong Lajong's six-match unbeaten run in the league came to an end. Bengaluru FC now have 21 points from 11 matches, while the North Eastern side remain on 14 points.
Man of the match, Chhetri opened the scoring for his team in the seventh minute. After a smart move from the left flank, he managed to put the ball past the Lajong keeper Vinay Singh after a perfect one-two with Robin Singh.
The second goal came from a penalty in the 34th minute after Chhetri was brought down inside the box by Robin Gurung. Chhetri made no mistake from the spot, as he became the highest Indian goal scorer in the league with four strikes.
The visitors pulled one back in the 81st minute with a brilliant goal from Boithang Haokip. Haokip's curling left footer from a free kick outside the box beat Bengaluru FC keeper Pawan Kumar. The home side managed to cling on to the one goal lead to pocket full points from the match.
Bengaluru FC could have won by a bigger margin had they not missed some easy chances from close range. The home side were also unlucky in the 20th minute when Beikhokhei Beingaichho's header hit the cross bar. Robin Singh, who started the game in place of Sean Rooney, too was culprit of missing a few sitters.
Rangdajied United register first win, defeat Mohun Bagan
Rangdajied United register first win, defeat Mohun Bagan
Kolkata: Rangdajied United FC finally shrugged off their winless run after defeating Kolkata Giants Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the 12th Round of the I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium here today. Manandeep Singh gave 'The Blues' a lead against the run-of-play in the 22nd minute before Eugeneson Lyngdoh scored the second in the 66th minute to ensure the historic win.
Coming in following the back-to-back draws after strengthening their squad, the Meghalaya side was confident of upsetting the Mariners as coach Santosh Kashyap made some surprising changes. He dropped youngster K C David Ngaihte and Joy Chandra, perhaps in a calculated move, to master a sweet revenge against the club that sacked him mid-way last year.
The hosts were the first to get a scoring chance when Subrata Paul failed to clear a back pass that fell on Odafa Okolie's feet at the edge of the box. Odafa passed the ball to Eric Muranda and luckily for Rangdajied, the Kenyan was slow on his turn and the visitors survived.
The hosts however continued to press hard, Katsumi being the architect of those attacks. But soon, Rangdajied players settled down and in no time silenced the Mariners at the stand. It was Manandeep Singh again, who broke the deadlock when Yohei Iwasaki dribbled passed two defenders and found the former East Bengal striker inside the 6-yard box, who coolly slotted the ball home.
Bagan, having conceded came all guns blazing, seeking for the equaliser with Odafa taking most of the burden on himself. But time and again, Paul came to the rescue of his side and took them to the break with the lead intact.
Change of ends saw the match starting in the same vein but this time Rangdajied had the first look at the goal. Manandeep took a sharp turn and unleashed a screamer which went straight into Sandip Nandi's hand.
In between, the Green and Maroons made few inroads. But none was dangerous enough to trouble the defence or the keeper before Tomba Singh came up with another brilliant header, forcing Sandip Nandi to stretch full-length to keep the ball away.
