Bengaluru FC go down fighting at home as Johor Darul Tazim claim a 0-1 victory in AFC Cup

PLAYING WITHOUT most of their stars, Bengaluru FC put up a worthy fight against heavyweights Johor Darul Ta'zim but in the end went down 0-1 after a few great opportunities frustratingly didn't come to fruition for them.

Ashley Westwood decided to rotate heavily today, decviding to play Ralte at goal and most importantly, leaving Sunil Chhetri on the bench; a much needed rest for the skipper amidst their dense fixture. The attack was led by Udanta Singh as the target man, with Seminlen Doungel and Siam Hanghal supporting him. Only two foreigners started the game; Michael Collins at midfield and John Johnson in the defense.

Early on Udanta Singh got a shot on target that the Johor keeper managed to clear. Captain Thoi Singh fouled Azamuddin and the resulting free kick earned the visitors a corner that they didn't make much out of. But soon Johor were seen sniffing around the Bengaluru box for an opening. 20 minutes in, Lucero sent in a curler but Ralte made a full-stretch dive to palm it away. Azamuddin tried his luck too but Keegan Pereira blocked it.

Aidil Zaufan, standing in the middle just outside the Bengaluru box, got a fine ball from the right that he volleyed towards the target on first touch. It took everyone by surprise and the keeper was in no shape to make a save. But the ball went just wide.

Minutes later Pereyra Diaz received a cross from the right that he directed towards the goal, but once again it was just too wide to count. 

Early in the second half Bengaluru had a golden opportunity to take the lead. A free kick by Udanta Singh delivered towards the back of the cluster inside the Johor penalty box saw John Johnson leap out to get a header in what could have been a repeat of the goal he scored in the iconic match against Mohun Bagan on this very ground on 31st May last season. Only this time it went wide. 

And the miss was punished only minutes later, somewhat unfairly. Amirul dived when Keegan Pereira challenged him. The referee thought it was a foul and awarded a free kick just outside the Bengaluru FC box. Safiq Rahim took it amidst a loud concert of boos from the home fans. It found the orchestrated gap between the last blue shirt on the wall and the Johor player standing next to him. Ralte was aghast, but it was too late. Johor Darul Ta'zim had taken a one goal lead.

The pressure on BFC remained as Diaz attempted a good finisher on a free kick taken from the right but it was blocked. Diaz once again pushed hard and sent a good ball to Lucero inside the box whose shot was weak and Ralte latched onto it.

The home team was trying hard to push back but they were having trouble getting past the Johor defenders. Lalchhuan Mawia got the ball outside the box and let fly hoping for a long-range finisher but couldn't keep it on the target.

But the chance of the match came in the 84th minute when Udanta Singh delivered a corner into the box. Alwyn, a defender and the Johor goalkeeper went after it and the former did great to shake them off. Now there he was, with the ball, just a few feet away from goal, with the keeper fallen over and the defender stumbling further away. But he hesitated and it allowed the keeper to make one last desperate lunge for the ball. The shot under pressure went just off target. And that allowed Johor to get full points from this game.

So in the end it was another frustrating result for Bengaluru FC. They tried their hardest and put up a fight despite being without quite a few of their best players but in the end a couple of missed chances left them without a point. Johor Darul Ta'zim took a big leap towards qualifying for the next round by going up to 6 points from 2 matches. Bengaluru FC are on 0 points from 2 matches, and a comeback is looking harder than ever for them.