Bengaluru's bravado overcomes the Mariners' might, the Blues lift the Federation Cup with a 2-0 victory

A NERVY, END TO END contest that went down to the wire of extra time saw Bengaluru FC overcome Mohun Bagan 2-0 and write their name on the Federation Cup 2017, the highest cup tournament in the country.

Everything was on the line. Pride as a club. Bragging rights. The difference between a successful and a trophyless season. The future of the coaches at the clubs. One last chance to assert dominance in a historic tournament that was likely seeing its last day as the premier cup tournament in India. 

Bengaluru FC depended on Udanta Singh, Lenny Rodrigues, Seminlen Doungel and Eugeneson Lyngdoh to manage their onslaught on the Mohun Bagan defence, in the absence of Sunil Chhetri and Cameron Watson due to an injury and card-suspension. The Mariners benched Jeje Lalpekhlua and fielded Balwant and Duffy as the two strikers while Katsumi and Norde were at the wings to provide crosses. But while the attackers heavily featured in both the clubs' first half plan of action, it was their defenders who stole the show in the earlier part of the game.

Bengaluru went for goal from the start. Eugeneson and Udanta combined to get a cross in from the left. Pritam's clearance reached Eugeneson and the latter took a good shot that drew an early save from Debjit Majumder. Mohun Bagan immediately countered. Katsumi went up the right, found Duffy who fed Balwant but Sandesh Jhingan made a great clearance. All this happened in the first three minutes and set the tone for the game.

Khabra's ball found Seminlen in the MB box but he shot wide. Subhashish Bose's long ball was cleared by Juanan. Balwant Singh charged in not long after but Sandesh Jhingan took care of that.

Within ten minutes the tempers were showing. Khabra had fouled Sony Norde but the latter mistook his apologetic pat for a slap in the back of the head. He jumped up and pushed him to the ground. The referee immediately booked him and the Haitian international was lucky it wasn't a straight red. Minutes later Eugeneson put a malicious tackle on Norde and got booked himself.

Both the teams now started pushing harder. And 21 minutes in when Eugeneson's ball reached Udanta Singh outside the box he directed a bullet of a shot straight into the box. It took a deflection off Seminlen and went straight in. As the Blues started celebrating, they were halted by the linesman's flag: Seminlen was offside.

At the half hour mark Mohun Bagan very came close. Sony Norde's corner kick went to Eduardo Ferreira who got a header towards the target but it hit the woodwork. Katsumi got the ball, and his shot had Amrinder beaten, but Sandesh Jhingan made a sublime glal-line clearance that saved Bengaluru FC.

Norde created a number of moves towards the end of the first half but could not create enough threat in the BFC box. The first half remained a goalless affair.

Early in the second half, Bengaluru FC found the net again. Eugeneson's free kick was met by the flying left foot of Juanan for a clinical close range finish. But to the shock of the players, coach Albert Roca and the dozens of Bengaluru fans who had made the journey to Cuttack the offside flag once again went up. It was Seminlen who was the culprit again, getting behind the defenders as the ball came in. While he did not interfere with the game, he was close enough to distract the keeper and the defenders. The goal was disallowed again.

A few minutes later Balwant Singh sent a  bullet of a shot towards the BFC goal that Amrinder somehow managed to palm away through a desperate dive. Then Udanta Singh made a breakneck run that drew Debjit Majumder forward. A precise chip from the winger was clean past the keeper but the shot went just off target.

It was a wonder that the scoreline was 0-0 one hour in.

Sanjoy Sen made some adjustments to the MB attack. Jeje Lalpekhlua replaced Souvik, making him the third natural striker on the pitch. Prabir Das replaced Subhashish Bose, allowing Katsumi Yusa to move to the middle. And Eduardo Ferreira, who was being beaten by pace throughout the game and was having a problem with his knee, made way for Raju Gaikwad.

Bengauru, for their part, got Seminlen Doungel replaced by the former MB playmaker Cornell Glen, giving the veteran a perfect platform to get back at the club who let him go after he helped them win the Federation Cup last season.

And his presence had an effect from the beginning. His sudden runs and precise shots repeatedly caught the Mohun Bagan defence off guard. But they held on for the time being.

Sandesh Jhingan made a breakaway run towards the MB box towards the end of the second half but he was tackled by Jeje Lalpekhlua in a rare role reversal between the Indian international defender and forward. As the game went into added time, Mohun Bagan put the pressure right back on Bengaluru with three back to back corners. But despite attempts to finish from Duffy and Raju, the final whistle came with the two teams still at 0-0.

The players paused for breath and a quick drink of water before taking on the dreaded extra time, made especially difficult by the hot and humid weather of Cuttack. And it was Glen who got the contest underway with a brilliant chip over Debjit Majumder from an angle. The ball hit the far post. 

95 minutes in, Albert Roca introduced Nishu Kumar into the game to replace Harmanjot Khabra. The two teams were now throwing everything at each other to finish this before the penalties.

Sony Norde, following a miss from a free kick, appeared to be struggling with a back strain but he decided to continue, much to the delight of the few thousand Mohun Bagan fans who had traveled and filled one entire end at the Barabati Stadium.

As the match ticked past the 100 minute mark tempers were flaring again. Pritam Kotal got booked for a hot-headed reaction. A few minutes later he blatantly brought down CK Vineeth and was lucky not to get a second booking. Eugeneson's deivery of the resulting free kick created chaos on the MB box. First Debjit tried to fist it away, then Jhingan got a shot but it was cleared for a throw in. The throw in was crossed into the box by Jhingan and Vineeth pounced on it. No one had a chance to stop his shot. But it went just wide of the near post. The first half of extra time was goalless still.

And the long awaited goal came just after the match resumed. A ball from Eugeneson Lyngdoh saw an attempted headed clearance from Anas Edathodika. But the header sent the ball straight to CK Vineeth at the edge of the box. He adjusted his position and picked a narrow gap between defenders to shoot towards the target. And as Debjit made a diving attempt to save it, the ball took a deflection from none other than Anas Edathodika and went straight into the net.

The visiting BFC fans exploded in joy. They finally had the desired lead. The bench celebrated and even the stone-faced Roca broke into a smile and hugged his colleagues. 

The nature of the game changed immediately. Bengaluru FC were now just holding on, going for the counters when needed. And as the precious last minutes passed by, Mohun Bagan players were losing their temper as well as their grip on the game.

Pritam Kotal got a long ball into the BFC box but before Balwant Singh even got to the receiving end he fouled a defender. Sony Norde charged up the left flank, earned yey another corner, but Glen headed it straight out. Norde built an attack from the throw in and earned another corner. A well delivered set piece saw Mohun Bagan players get two attempts from inside the BFC box but both of them were weak. BFC immediately countered but it was stopped by a Prabir Das sliding tackle. 

And then BFC moved for the kill. As MB put as many bodies forward as possible, CK Vineeth got hold of a precise pass and found himself in acres of space. The weary Mohun Bagan gave him too long to spend on the ball and that was enough for him to draw the keeper forward and shoot the ball straight past him. It was 2-0 with barely two minutes left, and Bengaluru FC had sealed the game.

It was their second Federation Cup trophy within 3 seasons, 4th major title in as many years. They turned a disastrous season where their performance in the I-League was below par right around with silverware, and a qualification for the AFC Cup next season. The BFC players celebrated their vindication and the coach, Roca broke his icy stature. Sunil Chhetri came out to hug his mates. A few of the BFC players were seen consoling Bagan players, who sat on the grass crestfallen after a taxing season where they missed the I-League title by one point and got beaten in Extra Time at the Federation Cup final, stopping just short of lifting the trophy for the 15th time.

The night belonged to the Blues, who lifted the prestigious trophy with full glory. The club still has an important battle left; a win against Maziya on the 31st will earn them a ticket to the AFC Cup knockout stage. But the fighting spirit they showed tonight against such adverse conditions facing down a strong opponent will give West Block Blues enough reasons to hope again.

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