Vineeth fires Bengaluru back into winning ways as they beat Aizawl by a solitary goal at home
BENGALURU FC RETURNED to winning ways with a 1-0 win against Aizawl FC at Kanteerava stadium tonight; not the prettiest win of the season but 3 precious points nonetheless that furthered their cause in the I-League title race.
Aizawl FC coach Jahar Das brought Chigozie, Lallawmawma, Yuta Kinowaki and Lalrinmuana into the squad, going into what was expected to be their toughest away game of the season. Ashley Westwood made quite a few changes in the squad as well, trying to shake off back to back defeats in I-League and AFC Cup. He brought back Keegan Pereira, Malzawmzuala, C.K. Vineeth, Seminlen Doungel as well as Udanta Singh into the first eleven.
From the very beginning the visitors were facing an uphill battle to contain Bengaluru FC. Rino Anto and Curtis Osano made a couple of early attacks. For Aizawl, Alfred Jaryan was trying his best, butr his shots were taken from too much of a distance to be effective.
Bengaluru FC came close when Osano led a counter to feed Malsawmzuala who let fly and missed the target by whiskers. Then Aizawl FC got a golden opportunity with Lalmuankima getting a clear shot on target but hitting the woodwork.
The home side ran most of the attacks throughout the first half, and after the break, C.K. Vineeth could be seen running some extra probes on the Aizawl defence.
First Vineeth got a chance to shoot from the middle but he fumbled on the ball. But minutes later, when Keegan Pereira sent a well taken free kick into the Aizawl box Vineeth made sure send an impeccable header right into the net. Finally, Bengaluru had the lead, 47 minutes in.
At the hour mark, Sunil Chhetri picked up an injury and had to be substituted. Daniel Lalhimpuia came on to replace him.
Vineeth got another chance, with Seminlen crossing in from the left. Vineeth ran in but a defender managed to clear. Then Lalramcchullova made a long run up the right flank, then saw a gap, moved in and took the shot but Amrinder made a timely save to keep the lead for BFC.
The pace of the game went down as the minutes wore on but there were a few attempts. Joel Sunday tried his luck but Amrinder saved again. Vineeth set up a good opportunity for Kim Song-yong who shot off target. Finally, the long whistle went off. Bengaluru FC had managed to get a 1-0 win against Aizawl FC for the second time this season, and after a couple of setbacks were back in winning ways. And Aizawl FC, despite trying hard, went down once again.
The win sent Bengaluru second in the league table with 18 points from 9 matches, while Aizwl FC are uncomnfortably close to the bottom with 8 points from 9 games. Although the way they somewhat held their own against Bengaluru would give them some mental boost going forward.
