ISL 2020-21, Bengaluru FC vs Jamshedpur FC: Who won yesterday's match?

Bengaluru FC went down to Jamshedpur FC by a 0-1 margin in the 41st match of the Indian Super League Season (ISL) at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao, Goa. A late Stephen Eze goal proved to be enough for Jamshedpur FC to register a convincing victory.

TP Rehenesh saves the blushes for Jamshedpur FC

The match got off to a very quick start as Kristian Opseth tested TP Rehenesh with a free-kick in the 3rd minute. Jamshedpur FC then resorted to long balls and tested the Bengaluru FC backline for a good period of time.

Against the run of play, Suresh Singh Wangjam started a fantastic counter-attacking run before he passed the ball to Sunil Chhetri. However, the Bengaluru FC skipper couldn’t find the back of the net as his shot took a deflection and went out for a corner.

Jamshedpur FC came back into the game through the wingers, Aniket Jadhav and Jackichand Singh. But Nerijus Valskis failed to find the target on a couple of occasions.

The best chance for Bengaluru FC in the first half came after the cooling break. Suresh Wangjam tried to set up Cleiton Silva for a shot after getting behind the Jamshedpur FC backline.

Bengaluru FC could have gone 1-0 up if not for TP Rehenesh as he blocked Cleiton Silva’s shot. Suresh Wangjam was in action yet again when he came up with a fine pass to Sunil Chhetri but the latter placed his shot wide.

Towards the end of the first half, Jackichand Singh directed a diving header. But he was unlucky as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu pushed the ball on the ground before it bounced over.

Mis-firing Bengaluru FC get undone by Stephen Eze

After the half-time break, Bengaluru FC hardly troubled Jamshedpur FC’s defense. Early on in the second half, Dimas Delgado tried to find Cleiton Silva with a chipped pass, but Peter Hartley was there at the right place to intercept.

A few minutes later, Hartley was involved at the other end when his shot was saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The ball deflected to Stephen Eze and the Nigerian took a shot on his own but Rahul Bheke cleared it on the line.

Bengaluru FC did try to change their line-up by bringing on the likes of Fran Gonzalez, Deshorn Brown, and Leon Augustine. But the 2018-19 ISL champions could hardly break the compact Jamshedpur FC backline.

The match was decided after the second cooling break when Eze headed in a shot from Aniket Jadhav to put Jamshedpur FC 1-0 ahead. The lead could have been canceled out by Rahul Bheke’s header in the 86th minute. But TP Rehenesh produced a brilliant save again.

There were five minutes of stoppage time but there were no signs of Jamshedpur FC giving away a goal as they moved to the third spot in the points table.

ISL 2020-21, BFC vs JFC: Who was the Hero of the Match

TP Rehenesh has been sensational after being sent off against Odisha FC. Courtesy: ISL

Goalkeeper TP Rehenesh was named the ‘Hero of the Match’ for his stellar performance that denied Bengaluru FC any goal on the night. The ISL journeyman has been consistent in the last few matches and has been pulling off superb reflex saves. Rehenesh hasn’t committed any howlers that he is known for and that has turned out to be the icing on the cake.

He came up trumps especially on two big occasions tonight. In his absence, Cleiton Silva and Rahul Bheke could have scored on any other day. Rehenesh also made several other neat saves and was decent with his distribution.