Bengaluru FC were pushed near the bottom place as FC Goa handed the Blues a third consecutive defeat, emerging 2-1 winners in a Indian Super League 2021-22 fixture at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim. This was a second consecutive victory for the Gaurs in a match that saw two red cards and eight yellow cards.
Ashique Kuruniyan (16’ OG) scored his second own goal of the season, sending the Gaurs in an early lead before Cleiton Silva (45’) pegged them back with a sublime free-kick. Devendra Murgaonkar (70’) helped his team regain the lead and scored the winner after going down to 10-men.
Jorge Ortiz started the game on a bright note, being the source of several attacking opportunities. He seemed to have got on the scoresheet in the 16th minute but the goal was accredited to Ashique Kuruniyan who got the last touch on a rebound. Glan Martins was the first player to go in the referee’s book as he got a yellow card early in the match.
Sunil Chhetri’s woeful start to the season continued as he missed an open goal from 12 yards in his 100th appearance. Roshan Naorem then picked up a yellow post the drinks break. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu fumbled an easy backpass a few minutes later but managed to clear it to avoid conceding an embarrassing goal. Against the run of play, just before the halftime whistle, Cleiton Silva scored the equaliser with a curling free-kick from the left flank.
Substitutes Prince Ibarra and Parag Shrivas were sent by Marco Pezzaiuoli at the break to make an impact. Danish Farooq received a yellow card for a late challenge on Dheeraj Singh. In the 55th minute, goalscorer Ortiz received a red card for pushing Suresh Singh Wangjam after getting hit with a tackle from behind. The BFC midfielder also got booked along with Ibarra for reacting aggressively.
With 20 minutes left to play, Devendra Murgaonkar scored from close range, assisted by Ivan Gonzalez’s header after being left unmarked inside the box. Bruno Ramires and Parag also got booked later in the game for poor challenges before Suresh Singh received his second yellow and got sent off in the 84th minute.
Juan Ferrando’s men managed to hold on to their lead after the fourth official signalled six minutes of added time. As for the Blues, the fourth defeat in six matches piles even more pressure on the team to perform better in forthcoming games.
Bengaluru FC awaits the challenge of ATK Mohun Bagan on Thursday, the outfit which is winless in their last three matches too. While FC Goa will lock horns with Hyderabad FC on Saturday in a week’s time.
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