A 7th-minute strike from CK Vineeth turned out to be the winner in the end as Albert Roca began his stint as Bengaluru FC manager on a positive note. The I-League champions controlled the proceedings for most parts of the game and will be bitterly disappointed not to take an even larger lead into the second leg of the tie after creating chances aplenty as they lacked precision in the final third.
Here are the 5 biggest talking points from the game:
Bengaluru buys into Albert Roca’s philosophy with ease
Albert Roca was in an unenviable position heading into the game. The reigning I-League champions had last played a game three and a half months back and went into a game against a team who are in the thick of the action in the S-League. Roca was counting on the nucleus of the team which was still there to carry them through and they repaid the Spaniard in tremendous fashion
The Spaniard had big shoes to fill. Ashley Westwood had etched a special place for himself in the hearts of the Bengaluru FC fans after leading them to 3 major trophies in his three years at the helm. But the style of play is a stark contrast to the one Westwood employed for the Bangalore outfit. Thus, it was a tricky challenge for all involved in the Bengaluru FC team to put in a concerted team effort.
And by the final whistle, the answers were all in the positive. The football was sumptuous especially in the middle as Alvaro Rubio and Cameron Watson seemed in sync with their Indian counterparts to gift the Indian champions a much-deserved victory.
Rovers fail to turn up
Much was expected from the Tampines Rovers after they knocked out Mohun Bagan in the Round of 16 and looked the better-prepared side heading into the competition. However, what transpired at the Kanteereva stadium today, should surely have them worried heading into the second leg of the competition.
The visitors, for the most part of the game, looked inept up front and failed to get much out of Bengaluru’s backline except for one glorious opportunity for Jordan Webb early on. Even Jermaine Pennant, their marquee signing looked lost during phases of the game. They should, in fact, be thankful that the margin of victory was not larger, courtesy of some poor finishing from the hosts.
Neither Jordan Webb nor Billy Mehmet showed any signs of ever taking the game by its horns, and that will have to change if they are to get anything out of the tie heading into the second leg.
Poor finishing might come back to bite Bengaluru
Whilst the final score read 1-0 to Bengaluru, no one would have been surprised if it had ended 4-0 or 5-0, such was Bengaluru’s dominance. The front quartet of Sunil Chhetri, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Alwyn George and CK Vineeth looked sharp but missed some glorious opportunities to bury the tie in the first leg itself.
With Cameron Watson bossing the midfield, Alvaro Rubio spraying the ball around and Sunil Chhetri playing the perfect role of the playmaker in the hole behind the striker, the hosts moved the ball with much ease and finesse. However, when it came to the critical moment of planting the ball into the back of the net, they fluffed their lines time and again.
Football is a funny game and no one knows what could transpire in seven days’ time in Singapore when Albert Roca’s men take on the Rovers for the second game. While a one-goal lead coupled with zero away goals for the visitors is something to write home about, they should definitely not be happy about letting such opportunities go to waste.
Sunil Chhetri’s role under Roca might be a bit different
There were number of instances last season under Ashley Westwood when the Indian skipper (if you overlook the last game for India) was deployed on the left side of the attacking trio. Whilst he did decently cutting on from the left, it was certainly not his natural position and sometimes looked out of sorts on that side of the field.
He was back at his best during India’s thrashing of Puerto Rico as he played the role of the playmaker behind the main striker to near perfection. Chhetri was India’s focal point of attack and team as a whole reaped rewards as his technical brilliance helped the team’s play to flourish. And ended with a resounding victory for Team India.
Roca might have been watching and played him in a similar position with Chhetri dropping down time and again to link up play. In fact, it was his brilliant pass that led to Vineeth’s goal in the early proceedings.
New faces merge in seamlessly for Bengaluru
Another big headache for Carlos Rocha coming into the game was amalgamating three new faces in the Bengaluru line-up in the form of their three new foreigners viz. Cameron Watson, Alvaro Rubio and Juan Gonzalez.
However, that didn’t seem to be a problem as the game progressed. Each of them took their to tasks like a duck to water and played with the utmost poise, making it look as if they had been playing together for years.
Watson was the link between the midfield and the defence, playing neat ‘1-2’s with players all around the park. Meanwhile, Alvaro Rubio looked at ease spraying the ball around and becoming the instigator of most of the Bengaluru attacks. Gonzalez, on the other hand, complemented John Johnson to the core even after a shaky start as he helped keep a dangerous Tampines Rovers attack (at least on paper) searching for answers the whole game.
