A new dawn

Bengaluru FC’s historic AFC Cup feet has been a reward for their relentless pursuit of excellence.

Bengaluru FC didn’t make the mistake of thinking way ahead than necessary. Ever since the Blues made the AFC Cup quarterfinal in May, beating Kitchee 2-3 in an away fixture, they have actually been taking it one match at a time. One win away from the title now, Mirror looks at what helped BFC get to where it is now and the things that could work for them against Iraqi side Air Force Central in the final on Nov 5 in Doha.

Fighting mentality

The early goal, conceded in the 11thminute, through Safiq Rahim, brought the best out of the team. Egged on by the crowd, BFC made more in-roads and fought for every ball. BFC have registered come-back wins before but Wednesday’s return speaks a lot of the side’s fighting mentality under coach Albert Roca. “I wasn’t shocked that we succeeded,” captain Sunil Chhetri, who scored a brace, said. “Sometimes, even when you play well, you don’t succeed. Thankfully we got the goal at the right time and when we went down before, the team showed great character. I don’t mean just the team but the crowd too. If not for them, we wouldn’t have reacted the way we did.”

Chhetri, the true leader

There was some confusion in the 80th minute of the game. Chhetri, limping near the sideline, had a corner to defend but couldn’t make it there. He had cramps and it was a mountain of work for him to even get till the halfline. The referee, wouldn’t allow a substitution yet and only after protests from Chhetri and coach Roca, did Keegan Pereira come on for the skipper, who handed over the arm-band to Rino Anto for the rest of the game.

He was out of the pitch but you could still say Chhetri was the boss. Right from being a marksman for defending corners to orchestrating the move upfront, he was all over the field. There’s no doubt he was the better of the two leaders on the field, Safiq Rahim being the other one. And as a player, he’s just five feet and seven inches. You would think that it is quite short for a forward, but he makes up for it with his aerial skills. In fact, to score the equaliser off a corner, Chhetri would have jumped higher than Marcos Antonio, the JDT central defender who stands at six feet and two inches. And his second goal, similar to one he had netted against Oman in a World Cup qualifier a year ago, shows he can take the opposition by surprise. More teams have been disappointed at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium for underestimating Chhetri than really grasping what a threat he is.

“As the captain, Chhetri set the right example for everyone here,” Roca said. “From the first day, he was really dedicated and focused. He’s a big part of what we achieved tonight.”

Dead-ball specialist eugene

Of the five corners BFC had, Lyngdoh fumbled with only one in the second half. He is BFC’s set-piece taker after all, who had his say in two of the three goals that Bengaluru struck past JDT.

But he did have a jittery first half. There was a moment when Chhetri, dribbling towards the touchline on the left flank, glanced into the box, saw Eugeneson Lyngdoh near the far post and tucked in a low-lying cross. Unfortunately, Lyngdoh didn’t quite understand he had to run in at the far end and when Chhetri extended his arms in a ‘what happened’ sort of way, Lyngdoh just shook his head and proceeded to take the corner. In a way, that rebuke from Chhetri woke up Lyngdoh, who did not seem a touch slack after that.

But you can’t forget Lyngdoh’s influence throughout this fixture. He was the one who netted the 30-yard left-footed equaliser in the first leg in Malaysia.

Fans’ impact

At 21,379, Bengaluru once again showed the kind of passionate it can draw for football games. Only during the ILeague’s last game against Mohun Bagan in 2015, did the numbers at the stadium hit 21,000.

“Fans were a big part of the game from the first minute,” Roca said. “They were a big support for us. For me, it was my first experience and I am glad to see the kind of support we have with us. With this kind of fans, we can go anywhere.”

Ready for it all

The AFC Cup title looks achievable given the way BFC is playing now. Striker CK Vineeth appears a real threat to the defence with his pace. The midfield has adapted well to Roca’s style of attacking from the wings though the wing backs need to be focused at all points of the game. Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, who made five saves in the first leg, is coming of age. All that is left for BFC now is execution.

“This result just shows that Indian football is improving,” former BFC coach Ashley Westwood said. “It is putting them on the map. They have been playing in many big pressure situations. They know how to handle it now. They have certainly got a chance (to win the title).”

A chance is all that BFC needs.