Durand Cup: Bengaluru FC humble Indian Air Force 4-0; Odisha beat Kerala Blaster

Bengaluru FC (BFC) became the third team of the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup to pick up a second consecutive win.

In as many games, after they beat the Indian Air Force 4-0 in a Group B encounter at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan (KBK) in the southern fringes of the city. Roy Krishan opened the scoring in the ninth minute of the match while Sunil Chhetri got the second in the 23rd. The third was scored by Faisal Ali in the 71st minute, while young striker Siva Sakthi got the fourth in the third minute of stoppage time.

As a result, BFC now join Mohammedan on six points in the group and both also have the same goal difference. The Blues gaffer Simon Grayson made as many as six changes in his starting eleven with defender Hira Mondal being the only forced change due to a red-card picked up in their first game. Priya Darshan the Air Force coach made two, rewarding Prabhjot Singh for his spirited play in the last game when he came on as substitute and dropped Guizam in defence in place of Amal Das. Both surprisingly began with five defenders in the starting line-up.

The goal came early for BFC as Roy Krishna received a cross from the left and drove in to finish with his right, for his second of the tournament. Soon after captain Sunil Chhetri got at the end of a cross from Prabir Das, who was tireless with his runs from the right on the day, to sneak one past Shibinraj in the Air Force goal. It was his second of the tournament as well in as many games.

There was no further damage done for the Airmen in the first half.

BFC got their third goal in the 71st through their new recruit from Kolkata itself, Faisal Ali. Two substitutes, Udanta and Faisal combined for it but credit should go to Suresh Wangjam who chased a ball inside the box with Air Force defender Arashpreet on his shoulder trying to see it to touch. Suresh persisted and kept the ball in play with a lunge and Udanta was at hand. The speedy Manipuri winger delivered a cross across the face of goal with pin-point accuracy and Faisal coming in following the game, had an easy tap in.

The Airmen had their best chance in the 81st minute when off a Prabhjot corner, Arashpreet jumped the highest to deflect a powerful header towards goal but it grazed the top of the net and went out.

Suresh then had an assist for himself when he released yet another sub Siva Sakthi with a measured through and the young BFC striker dodged the keeper to make it four.

Odisha FC beat Kerala Blasters

Odisha FC (OFC) secured their second win in Group D by beating the Kerala Blasters 2 – 0 in the 131st Indian Oil Durand Cup here at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. They did not have it easy however, against a resilient Blasters side who held them goalless till half-time through astute tactical defending. OFC’s foreign recruits Diego Mauricio and Saul Pedro scored for the winners which would be a heartening sign for Spanish coach Josep Gombau.

With this win, OFC go on top of the Group D table with six points from two games, while the Kerala Blasters have one point from the same number of matches. Odisha FC started to dominate possession in the first half once they settled down, after a slow start to the game by both the sides. The Blasters were compact, held their shape and defended well against the more experienced OFC side.

Wingbacks Shubham Sarangi and Thoiba Singh Moirangthem played high up the pitch and made frequent runs through the flanks creating problems for the Blasters defence. The first chance fell to Jerry, who twice in the previous game, but his shot was straight at the Blasters keeper Sachin Suresh, who did well and had quite a lot to do.

The best chance of the half came to Issac Vanmalsawma, but his finish was wayward. Nandhakumar Sekar and Jerry also threatened regularly down the flanks, but the Kerala defence stood firm.

The Kerala Blasters started the second half in a lively manner, but OFC started to control the game and created the better chances. The forward line linked up well and created pressure inside the Blasters box.

Second half substitute Diego Mauricio then made an immediate impact after he ran behind the behind the Blasters defence line and passed right. Issac Vanmalsawma met the ball right about at the centre of the box and finished smoothly for OFC’s first of the game.

The attacks and chances continued to come and the second goal came from a scramble inside the Blasters penalty box off a corner taken by Jerry. The ball was headed on target by Australian Osama Malik, yet another second-half sub and the rebound from the defender was latched on to by Saul Pedro, who tapped in to double the advantage.

The young Blasters could not stitch any meaningful attacks, enough to trouble the OFC defence, but even then their performance was commendable against an Odisha side who were coming into the game, having scored six in their previous encounter.