Bengaluru: The atmosphere was highly charged and so was the action on the pitch with Sunil Chhetri striking twice in the first half as Bengaluru Football Club continued their splendid, unbeaten home run with a 2-1 win against Shillong Lajong on Sunday .
At the Bangalore Football Stadium, both teams came into the contest high in confidence and the result was a classic end-to-end match with the teams going for the kill.
BFC were quick to get off the blocks and almost went ahead in the second minute when former Shillong star John Menyongar burst into the area to collect Chhetri's ball before skipping past the defence to cross. But Robin Singh, starting his first home game in place of Sean Rooney, was unable to keep his header down.
But the team made up to their home fans striking the first goal five minutes later. Chhetri started and finished a sweeping move from the left exchanging passes with Robin to stroke the ball into the far end of the goal and send the fans into a frenzy .
Shillong then launched an attack of their own in the 17th minute, when Cornell Glen hit a 25yard strike, after riding two challenges, forcing a smart save from Pawan Kumar.
The home side went close to scoring twice with Chhetri rattling the crossbar and Beikhokhei Beingaicho's header flying just wide.
Despite Shillong's front men, Uilliams and Gle looking dangerous, BFC continued to dominate the match with Menyongar putting in a masterful display.
The second goal came in the 34th minute when Chhetri was brought down inside the box. The captain stepped up and put the ball in the bottom left corner with aplomb.
Shillong then squandered two chances when Uilliams and Glen saw their efforts saved by the BFC custodian after getting into good positions.
Robin had few good chances to put the game beyond all doubt but the former East Bengal striker was unable to convert them despite linking up well with Chhetri, who produced a much improved and industrious performance, on many occasions.
After the action-packed first half, the second was tepid with both teams failing to raise the bar.
Shillong struck through Boithang Haokip in the 81st minute to bring the crowd that had gone into a lull to its feet.
The Shillong wideman curled in a left-footed kick into the top right corner to send the sizable away supporters into wild celebrations.
Despite the travelling side trying to up the tempo and charge to a win, the Men of Steel held on to their lead to ensure their home record stayed intact.
