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A second-half blitz from Bengaluru FC courtesy a Sunil Chhetri hattrick propelled the Blues from Bengaluru to the Super Cup 2018 Semi-finals.
Neroca FC had several chances to get more goals after the equaliser but all of them were squandered away by the Orange Army Frontline.
Old foes Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru to meet again in the penultimate clash on 17th April. The game had everything one would ask for, however, Sportskeeda looks at the Top five talking points from the game.
#1 Chhetri's Hattrick
Yet another hattrick from arguably India's best striker in Modern Times! Chhetri was the pioneer of Bengaluru's midfield and frontline today.
His excellent lay-offs to both the wingers from the middle of the park stretched the opposition at regular intervals.
Chhetri opened the scoring in the first half and was unstoppable in the second half. Two calmly placed finishes past a hapless Lalit Thapa put the game to bed late in the second half.
Chhetri has always been a pivotal member of any team he has played for in the past and he proved the same today.
Chhetri's one-touch play with support strikers Victor Perez and Udanta Singh was also a treat to watch leaving the Neroca defence off guard on numerous occasions.
Owing up to such scintillating performance, the former Sporting Lisbon striker was rightfully adjudged the 'Hero of the Match'.
#2 Wasteful Felix Chidi
The Nigerian wasted several chances to give Neroca the all-important second goal despite the Bengaluru defence caught napping in the final third.
Chidi headed wide two corners after being left unmarked in the second half. Ashok Singh's corners were extremely accurate and inflicted with immense pace which caused trouble for the Bengaluru defence.
The corners were not defended by Bengaluru FC well either, but it was not capitalised, courtesy of substandard finishing from the experienced Nigerian campaigner.
Chidi has been with Neroca since the I-League 2nd Division days and was expected to deliver for the team in such an important stage but things turned otherwise.
Chidi's misses from point-blank range cost Neroca a potential Semi-Final berth.
#3 Nervy Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Sandhu, best known for his spell with Norwegian side Stabaek FC was highly regarded as the potential replacement of the legendary Indian Goalkeeper Subrata Paul, often nicknamed as the 'Spiderman'.
He has been inconsistent since then with wonderful performances in a certain match by bailing his side with some top-notch saves, but failing to collect simple aerial balls in the other.
Sandhu despite having a lot of experience at his back, has seen a slight dip in form recently. Sandhu has leaked quite a number of lousy goals in this season from distance.
Although his height gives him a huge added advantage in collecting incoming aerial balls, Sandhu fumbled on several occasions in the Super Cup Tie against Neroca FC.
A long floated freekick from Aryn Williams was terribly handled by Sandhu which fell to Pritam Singh who slotted it home late in the first half to equalise for Neroca.
Sandhu was unable to get hold of few other crosses and long balls but fortunately for him there was no Orange Shirt prying around to cause trouble.
#4 Old foes meet again
With this win former I-League and current ISL side Bengaluru FC advance to the Super Cup Semi-finals where they will reignite their rivalry with Kolkata side Mohun Bagan.
The Blues from Bangalore had developed a keenly contested rivalry with both the Kolkata Giants both on and off the field in the recent years but with Bengaluru FC jumping the ship to the cash-rich tournament, the rivalry was deemed to have taken a break.
With the Super Cup placing Bengaluru FC up against Mohun Bagan in the semi-final, the rivalry with the Kolkata sides is all set to rekindle.
East Bengal, having a potential chance to face Bengaluru FC in the final, could well result in the rivalry be up and running among the Kolkata Giants and Bengaluru FC.
Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC have faced each other on thirteen occasions and the Mariners have come on top five times with six draws. Bengaluru have won twice.
The Kalinga Stadium is expected to attract a big amount of crowd as one of the best Rivalries is all set to take centre stage.
5) Bengaluru turns on the heat after Half Time
Fresh from giving up their lead in the first half, the Blues upped the ante right from the start of the second half.
The Blues kept on pressing with immense intent and were rewarded for their continuous positive play.
Chhetri put Bengaluru ahead in the 55th minute.
Neroca tried to get back into the game but were outsmarted by Bengaluru's midfield brilliance.
They kept on creating several chances and kept the Neroca defence busy throughout the second half.
Bengaluru kept on going strong till the final whistle and scored a third through Chhetri again and put the game to bed.
