Sad end to a brilliant ride

An absolutely dominant debut campaign ended in heart-wrenching despair for Bengaluru FC after they went down to Chennaiyin FC 2-3 in the final of the Indian Super League on Saturday.

What made it an even harder pill to swallow was the fact that the two-time I-League champions enjoyed the comfort of their Fortress -- Sree Kanteerava Stadium -- and the backing of their die-hard fans, many who were reduced to tears after the game.

It may not have been an ideal conclusion but the season has had highs aplenty for the Blues and a few lows that could be used more as a learning.

Taking it by storm

Like they have done in the past with different tournaments, Bengaluru came flying off the blocks in the ISL as well. The club which had won the I-League in their first season, toppling the likes of Kolkata heavyweights Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, were by far the most balanced team as they concluded their league engagements with 40 points, eight ahead of second-placed Chennaiyin.

Great mix of talent

Their intentions were made clear ahead of the draft in July last last year as BFC retained superstar Sunil Chhetri and an invaluable young talent in Udanta Singh.  The signing of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and retention of Lalthuammawia Ralte bode well for the club as they were assured of safe hands between the sticks. Foreign imports Juanan, John Johnson, Edu Garcia, Dimas Delgado, Erik Paartalu and Miku would all come in handy as the squad wore a settled look.

Marquee players

Finding a leader was never going to be an issue as Bengaluru had India's best -- Chhetri -- among their ranks and the man has proven time and again to be a fantastic talisman. Guiding the youngsters and inspiring the entire squad when the chips were down  are few of the things  he has performed spectacularly.  There was the added benefit of having veterans  mentoring youngsters in every area of the field. Up front, Miku came into his own with a tally of 15 goals in the season.

A heartening aspect with the youngsters was that, be it Harmonjot Khabra, Subashish Bose, Rahul Bheke, Nishu Kumar or Boithang Haokip, every single of one of them has conjured meaningful contributions throughout the tournament.  

Bouncing back well

Four wins in five games set the tone for the season but then three losses in the next five fixtures threatened to derail their season. The true character of Albert Roca's men was tested and they bounced back like a champion side to go on a 10-game unbeaten run since losing 0-2 to minnows Delhi Dynamos in mid-January. Eventually, it was a pity the streak couldn't be extended.

Refereeing blunders

Considering they found the net 40 times in this edition, it maybe a tad harsh to pick on BFC's finishing but the club did not enjoy a great conversion rate, something which could have hurt them dearly on another day.

In addition, it can safely be said that refereeing throughout this year's ISL has been nothing short of shoddy. Coaches and players alike have raised complaints constantly but it all fell on deaf years. Bengaluru definitely didn't get the rub of the green and could have felt hard done more than once, something that would have demoralised the side more than ensuring they lost focus.

Final hurdle trip

Possessing big-match players in their ranks wasn't to be as it looked like the magnitude of the occasion got to them and left them a deflated bunch when it mattered the most.

Going forward, rest assured BFC will definitely  come out a wiser side as they continue their exploits in the AFC Cup group stages and the upcoming Super Cup.