KOLKATA: A young, extremely fast Bengaluru FC made things difficult for Quess East Bengal earlier today, so much so that when Ajay Chhetri scored for BFC at the 17th minute, a section of the crowd at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan went silent, awestruck at the goal.
Bengaluru FC led the attack in the first half, with occasional cameos from QEB. The scenario was to change, when at the 46th minute, Bidyashagar Singh was brought onto the field as a substitute for Boithang Haokip. The star of Quess East Bengal so far at the 129th Durand Cup, Bidyashagar Singh scored the equaliser in the 59th minute with an assist from Brandon Vanlalremdika, following up with another one in the 74th minute, thus saving the day for his team. His game-changing heroics were good enough for him to be adjudged the Man of the Match.10 minutes into the game and Liston Colaco, star of the previous match, scored against Chennai City FC. Just when FC Goa was thinking they can relax for a bit, in the 18th minute, Mashoor Shereef headedthe ball right into the net and scored the equaliser for Chennai City FC. In the 31st minute, Nestor Dias scored the second goal for FC Goa, thus giving a much-needed lead of 2-1. Thus 3 goals scored in the first half an hour set the mood for the match. When Marcus Joseph, the Trinidad and Tobago import for Gokulam Kerala FC, took a long shot in the 7th minute of the match, which just went over the goal post, spectators at Sailen Manna Stadium, Howrah knew he was eyeing something big, possibly a repeat of the previous match. Within a few seconds, Gokulam would have made an early lead from Malemnganba’s shot but for a superb effort from the Air Force goalie Shibinraj who tipped the ball over the bar. (Agencies)
