Bengaluru FC pull off a remarkable upset to beat Kitchee FC by 3-2 to advance to QF of AFC Cup
PIC: The-AFC.com
BENGALURU FC advanced to the quarters of the Asian Football Federation (AFC) Cup after defeating Kitchee SC 3-2 at the Mong Kok stadium in Hong Kong. The I-League champions, who were knocked out of the Federation Cup by debutantes Aizawl FC made a successful come-back after conceding early on in the game.
Six minutes into the game Kitchee grabbed a lead after Rufino nodded home a cross from Yee on a bouncing ball. Two minutes later he also came up with a brilliant piece of skill leaving Johnson for dead, as he turned and played to Keung, whose cut-back was deflected for a goal kick.
Close to 20 minute mark, Rufino earned a free-kick in a good position after luring Alywn into a challenge. A bit of confusion among three men standing over it led to a poorly executed free-kick as the shot went well wide. Four minutes later, Lyngdoh’s delivery from the corner was well headed into the goal but Wang safely punched it away.
Half an hour into the game, Lyngdoh was blatantly brought down by Hoi, after cleverly dribbling past a defending. Udanta received a yellow card for his cynical challenge. Blues captain Sunil Chettri walked up and calmly chipped the ball into the back of the net to make it level. Two minutes later, Anto’s cross from the right was headed poorly straight to Chettri’s feet, who volleyed it to bottom corner to make it 2-1.
42 minutes into the game, Rufino started off a brilliant move by giving a forward pass to Annan, who played it to Tarres. The Spaniard cut past Osno inside the box before dispatching his shot into the root of the net to make it level. The crowd was at fever pitch as the first half ended with team’s level.
6 minutes after the second half got underway, Daniel Lalhlimpuia latched on to a poor back pass from Annan and managed to smuggle it past the keeper and toe poke it into the empty net. At the 57th minute, Kwesi’s shot was kept at bay by Amrinder with a fine save only to be cleared by Johnson for a Kitchee corner.
At the 69th minute, Anto put a grounded cross into the box as Christian left the ball for Tarres, who lifted the ball to take a weak cycle kick. Amrinder easily grabbed that shot from the striker. Ten minutes later, Tarres’ claim for a penalty was denied by the referee as Osano stole the ball with a clear tackle. Just two minutes later, Chettri played a beautiful one-two-one pass with Udanta but misfired a shot trying to put ball in the far top corner.
Close to 90 minutes into the game, Fanai played a sublime through ball to Daniel, who went past the keeper but failed to finish as his shot went wide. 5 minutes were given as added time, but Kitchee SC failed to pull off an equalizer to take the match to extra-time. Although the teams built the game from the back, both teams threw away a lot of chances in front of the goal.
With a scoreline of 3-2, Westwood’s men became the only Indian club to make it to the last-8 as Mohun Bagan were beaten by Tampines Rovers. It is also the first time for the Bengaluru FC that they will feature in the quarter finals of AFC Cup. Another reason for the visitor’s triumph to be an amazing feat is that the Hong Kong team remained unbeaten in the last five matches.
