Bagan ease past BFC

Mohun Bagan produced a dominating display to drub Bengaluru FC 3-1 in the group E fixture of the AFC Cup at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium here on Wednesday.

Bagan took the lead in the ninth minute through Jeje Lalpekhlua but Seminlen Doungel levelled the scores with a strike in the 52nd minute. Kean Lewis (72nd) and Bikramjit Singh (80th) then scored with a space of eight minutes to seal the deal in Bagan’s favour.
The Blues needed a win to progress to the knock-out round but they fell short against a commanding Bagan side.

BFC, with nine points, dropped to the second spot in the group and have to win their next tie against Maziya S&RC, who beat Abahani Dhaka 2-0 in the other group game to go top with 12 points.

A win at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on May 31 will leave both teams tied on points, Bengaluru’s superior head to head record against Maziya, will mean passage for Albert Roca’s men to the next round. In April, the Blues travelled to Maldives and came away with a 1-0 win.

 With an eye on Sunday’s Federation Cup final, Bengaluru made the trip to Kolkata without Amrinder Singh, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Juanan Gonzalez, Lenny Rodrigues, Cameron Watson and Udanta Singh. Defenders John Johnson and Harmanjot Khabra, meanwhile, missed the fixture owing to suspensions as Keegan Pereira captained the side.

The Blues fell behind in the 10th minute when Bagan’s Raynier Fernandes’ chip over the defence met Jeje Lalpekhlua’s run, who calmly it slotted past goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte.

Doungel then had a fantastic chance in the 24th minute when he picked Vineeth’s headed pass, shook off two Bagan defenders only to see his shot on target kept out by Bagan’s goalie Shilton Paul.

The Blues striker made amends seven minutes into the second half. He collected the ball ten yards outside the box and sent in a rasping drive into the net to make it 1-1. Vineeth then wasted a chance to hand Blues a lead in the 55th minute when he found himself through on goal with a fantastic pass, but he shot straight at the ’keeper.

Bengaluru went behind for a second time in the game although with a hint of bad luck. Kean Lewis’ shot at Ralte took a heavy deflection off Gursimrat Singh’s heel, before bouncing and looping over a stranded ’keeper on its way in.

The hosts then had a strike from outside the box of their own when Bikramjit Singh connected cleanly to make it 3-1 to the hosts.

Bengaluru's final chance of the evening came when substitute Rino Anto’s cross in the last minute of regulation time was tipped over off the crossbar by Paul.