Margao, Mar 15:
Bengaluru FC dropped crucial points in their race for a spot in the Indian Super League playoffs, going down 2-1 to FC Goa at the JN Stadium here on Thursday.
Shivaldo Singh (2′) had given Bengaluru the lead early on before Odei Onaindia (22′) equalised and Boris Thangjam scored the winner (81′) in an encounter that saw Gerard Zaragoza’s side reduced to ten men after Suresh Wangjam was sent off early in the second half.
Earlier, Zaragoza made one change to the side that faced Kerala Blasters earlier this month, with Shivaldo replacing striker Sivasakthi Narayanan. Dutch midfielder Keziah Veendorp returned to the Blues’ matchday squad, taking his place on the bench as skipper Sunil Chhetri led the line. The hosts, meanwhile, opted to begin with Carlos Martinez in attack, while Noah Sadaoui and Brandon Fernandes were tasked with providing impetus.
Bengaluru opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation from the get-go with Chinglensana Singh and Wangjam operating as deep-lying midfielders, while Spanish midfielder Javi Hernandez pulled the strings in a more advanced role, flanked by Shivaldo and Ryan Williams, with skipper Sunil Chhetri acting as the focal point.
Bengaluru found the back of the net in what was their first attack of the game when Wangjam clipped a pass over the Goa backline. Shivaldo, bending his run to stay onside before slotting past Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem in the Goa goal, who managed to get a hand to the shot but wasn’t able to keep it from rolling over the line.
Goa pushed forward in search of an equaliser, with Sadaoui and Brandon attacking down the left in particular. Marquez’s men would find themselves back on level terms 20 minutes on from conceding, riding on a bit of luck. Boris Thangjam’s shot from distance took a deflection off Shivaldo, before making its way into the back of the n Marquez rang in one change ahead of the second half, bringing on Jay Gupta in place of Narayan Das. The visitors were dealt an early blow when Wangjam was given his marching orders with the midfielder’s attempt to get free of an ankle-hold from Boris Thangjam was deemed dangerous play by referee Crystal John, in consultation with his assistant.
Bengaluru then made changes of his own, as Shivaldo and Javi were withdrawn for Jessel Carneiro and Veendorp. Goa came close to taking the lead on the hour mark when Thangjam found himself in space in the box, but his shot was blocked away by Damjanovic. Zaragoza then introduced Oliver Drost and Rohit Kumar in place of Williams and Chhetri, in a bid to add fresh legs to a side that had pushed hard in their bid to stop what was a relentless Goa attack.
Bengaluru, however, conceded with ten minutes of regulation time left to play when substitute Borja Herrera managed to slide a low drive across the box for Thangjam to finish from close range. Bengaluru’s attempts to restore parity saw Zaragoza introduce Sivasakthi Narayanan in place of Chinglensana Singh, but the hosts saw out the remainder of the fixture to seal the three points.
