Bengaluru FC and Ayeyawady played out a thrilling encounter at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the 4th Group H match of the AFC Cup. A blitz of goals in the second half meant that the game ended 5-3, which made it the highest scoring game at Bengaluru FC’s home ground with Alwyn George starring with a brace.
Lineups:
With an eye on the potential title-winning I-League game against Salgaoncar on Sunday, Ashley Westwood named a much-changed lineup, with NS Manju and Vishal Kumar making their first appearances of the season while Nishu Kumar made his debut.
Bengaluru FC: Mawia (GK), Manju, Pereira,Thoi, R Vishal, Len,J.Hanghal, Alwyn, Nishu, Daniel, Mawia, Vineeth.
Ayeyawady FC: Vanlal (GK), San Myo, Thein Naing, Arkar, M.M.Thu, K.Z.Y Win, T.H Zaw, A.K Naing, Ko Ko Thein, Takubu Abubakar, Chizoba
First Half
Ashley Westwood named CK Vineeth up front for Bengaluru FC and the Kerala striker repaid the Englishman’s faith right from the off, as he dribbled past the Ayeyawady defence to set up Daniel to hit the crossbar in the 10th minute. BFC’s domination was underlined by captain for the night, Thoi Singh, who volleyed narrowly over the bar minutes later.
Vineeth went close to setting up tap-ins for Len, but the Ayeyawady keeper Vanlal prevented a certain goal. The custodian was left floundering on the 20th minute, as a terrible backpass from the right back was intercepted by Vineeth, whose touch took him past the keeper and allowed him to slot into an empty net, giving BFC the lead.
With Thoi Singh and Alwyn George pulling the strings in midfield, Vineeth made merry up front, but failed to convert. The hosts came to regret their profligacy as the half ended, with Thiha Zaw smashing the ball home after Abubaker set him up with a measured pass, which meant both sides went into the break with the score at 1-1.
Second Half
The second half started in relatively sedate fashion, with Len and Thoi troubling the visitors in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. However, BFC took a valuable lead a minute after the hour mark, as Alwyn George pounced on the rebound after his shot from Vishal Kumar’s cross was parried by Vanlal.
The Blues confirmed their dominance 5 minutes later, As Seminlen Doungel made it 3-1 to the hosts in the 66th minute. Vineeth headed the ball onto Doungel’s path and the pacy frontman powered past the Ayeyawady defence to slot home past Vanlal at the near post.
Bengaluru FC’s joy was tempered moments later, as Chizoba powered a strike from the right edge of the box past a despairing dive from Ralte into the far corner, thus reducing the deficit in the 69th minute.
The lead was wiped out in the 77th minute in the most unfortunate of fashions. Chizoba burst past Vishal on the left wing and cut inside to shoot straight at Ralte, but the BFC custodian managed to spill the ball straight into the net, thus gifting Ayeyawady an equalizer.
BFC were not to be denied however, as substitute Beikhokhei slammed home a goal in the 80th minute after Alwyn missed Vineeth’s cross from the left corner. The excitement of the game did not rest, as BFC made it 5-3 in the final minute, Alwyn George scoring his brace as he profited from Udanta’s good work.
As the final whistle blew, BFC made it 6 points in 4 games from the AFC Cup, thus moving them into 2nd place and increasing their chances of qualifying.
