CALCULATED: Bangalore F.C. won a hard-fought 2-1 victory against 10 players Odisha FC in added time to qualify for their fourth consecutive semi-final in the Durand Cup here Saturday.
Frayed tempers marked the game during regulation time which saw as many as eight yellow cards and Odisha’s Shubham Sarangi given the marching orders.
Despite being shorthanded, Odisha FC fought hard but only to concede in the 98th minute with Siva Sakthi scoring his fourth goal of the tournament.
Odisha suddenly stepped up and looked for a better team to bring the game back to even terms with a well-placed Diego Mauricio header from a Sahil Panwar free-kick in the 115th minute.
As the match headed for a penalty shootout, BFC’s star rookie this season, Roy Krishna picked up a fine victory with a goal in the final touch of the match (120th).
Ralte made the mistake of knocking the ball out of touch with seconds left for the final whistle.
The quick throw-in hit an unmarked Krishna from around 25 yards out and the Fijian launched a powerful right-footed curler to beat Ralte.
Odisha will regret a few wasted chances during extra time.
Aussie Osama got a free kick in the 103rd minute but his flick went straight to Gurpreet Sandhu.
Just before the end of the first half of extra time, Pedro Martin found himself wonderfully behind the BFC defense on a Raynier free-kick, but with only Gurpreet to beat, missed his connection.
It was Bengaluru FC’s fourth consecutive semi-final in four appearances at Asia’s oldest football tournament. But they haven’t won a title yet.
Chasing the elusive Durand Cup title, BFC will face winners Rajasthan FC and Hyderabad FC in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Wednesday’s other semi-final will be between Mohammedan Sporting and the winners of Sunday’s match between Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC.
Frayed tempers marked the game during regulation time which saw as many as eight yellow cards and Odisha’s Shubham Sarangi given the marching orders.
Despite being shorthanded, Odisha FC fought hard but only to concede in the 98th minute with Siva Sakthi scoring his fourth goal of the tournament.
Odisha suddenly stepped up and looked for a better team to bring the game back to even terms with a well-placed Diego Mauricio header from a Sahil Panwar free-kick in the 115th minute.
As the match headed for a penalty shootout, BFC’s star rookie this season, Roy Krishna picked up a fine victory with a goal in the final touch of the match (120th).
Ralte made the mistake of knocking the ball out of touch with seconds left for the final whistle.
The quick throw-in hit an unmarked Krishna from around 25 yards out and the Fijian launched a powerful right-footed curler to beat Ralte.
Odisha will regret a few wasted chances during extra time.
Aussie Osama got a free kick in the 103rd minute but his flick went straight to Gurpreet Sandhu.
Just before the end of the first half of extra time, Pedro Martin found himself wonderfully behind the BFC defense on a Raynier free-kick, but with only Gurpreet to beat, missed his connection.
It was Bengaluru FC’s fourth consecutive semi-final in four appearances at Asia’s oldest football tournament. But they haven’t won a title yet.
Chasing the elusive Durand Cup title, BFC will face winners Rajasthan FC and Hyderabad FC in the semi-finals on Thursday.
Wednesday’s other semi-final will be between Mohammedan Sporting and the winners of Sunday’s match between Mumbai City FC and Chennaiyin FC.