Bengaluru FC one step away from I-League win after overpowering title rivals East Bengal 3-1

BENGALURU FC ALL BUT sealed their I-League title when they overcame East Bengal 3-1 at the Kanteerava Stadium tonight.

At the very outset, the hosts troubled East Bengal's defensive solidity. They won a free kick from close range that Eugeneson Lyngdoh fired hard towards the target, just about missing it. 

Then Kim Song-yong got past Bernard Mendy - more of a stopper on this night - and had a great chance to open the scoring but shot wide. Sunil Chhetri had a shot on target too but it got blocked.

The Blues sustained pressure on the Red and Golds, and soon earned a free-kick. The ball was delivered into the box, Kim Song-yong headed it towards young Udanta Singh who should have taken a shot but seemed to be taken by surprise and buttered that opportunity.

By now East Bengal were settling in and creating chances of their own. Sanju Pradhan sent in a good cross for Ranti Martins that he headed wide. 

But persistence soon paid off when Do Dong-hyun made a charge that took the entire Bengaluru defence by surprise. He drove through the middle of multiple defenders and shot it right into the goal. East Bengal had the lead and suddenly seemed to be the front runners in the title race.

But it didn't last for long. Almost as soon as the match resumed, Kim Song-yong delivered a delicious cross into the middle that Eugeneson Lyngdoh put an impeccable finisher on. BFC equalised and the match almost immediately seemed to turn on its head.

Eugenson sent in a great cross that almost immediately doubled Bengaluru's lead; but keeper Rehenesh managed to save it. The scoreline remained 1-1 at half-time,  and the second half began with both teams frantically looking for a lead.

Do Dong-hyun got a chance to score again, as h entered the Bengaluru box and pulled the trigger. But defender Keegan Pereira got in its way, and although Ranty Martins got hold of the ball it wasn't hard for keeper Amrinder Singh to save it.

Amrinder faced a more stern test when Do Dong-hyun, in possession outside the box, pulled one of his surprise hard-driven shots that required a full-stretch dive from the BFC custodian to keep out.

But the visitors' bravado was soon to come to an end. Just after the hour mark Eugeneson Lyngdoh ran up the right flank, sent in a cross for Kim Song-yong who shook off Bello Rasaq and sent a precise finisher into the net. Bengaluru FC now had the lead for the first time in this game, and they weren't going to stop there.

Within minutes, they were 3-1 up. It was Sunil Chhetri who took a crack at the goal, Rehenesh saved it. The ball went to young Malsawmzuala, who sent in a rather harmless shot. Rehenesh, trying to grab it with both his hands, fumbled twice and sent the ball into the net. An elementary blunder effectively took East Bengal out of contention from the match, and firmly set Bengaluru FC as the front-runners of the title race. 

East Bengal kept trying hard but it was easy work for BFC to see out the rest of the match. This win, which puts them on 29 points from 14 matches, means that they will seal the title if they beat Salgaocar at home next Sunday. The race to the summit has been close and complex all season, but for the first time a club has arrived within clinching distance of the title. And judging by the way the Blues have asserted themselves in the last few games, they are more than likely to secure their second I-League title in 3 seasons. The Red and Golds, whose painstaking campaign had seen them get tantalisingly close to the title, are once again returning disappointed after failing on their biggest test of the season.