Bhawanipore FC vs FC Bengaluru United – 8th October 2020, Kolkata
As the Indian footballing action commences with 5 teams battling it out in the race to grab the sole I-league spot, lets take a lookback at the first match of the tournament rolling in after what seemed like an eternity.
The heavyweights Bhawanipore FC locked horns with one of the most impressive sides, FC Bengaluru United at the pious backdrops of VYBK Salt Lake Stadium situated in the heart of the Mecca of Indian Football. The game kicked off at 12:30 IST with the two teams coming out of an actionless draught of over 7 months, both raring to close off the game with 3 crucial points.
Bhawanipore FC Starting XI
Shilton Paul (C)(GK), Kinshuk Debnath, E. Hoque, M. Chakladar, Arijit Bagui, Anup Raj, Y. Gopi Singh, S. Das, A. Sayed, Pankaj Moula, Philip Adjah
Subs: Supriyo Pandit, Jiten Murmu, Jiteshwor Singh
FC Bengaluru United Starting XI
Srijith (GK), Asraf Mondal, Primus, Rana Gharami(C), Amey Ranawade, Arun Kumar, Nicholas Fernandes, Akhil, William Opuku, Ronaldo Oliviera, A Mallick
Subs: Ishan Dey, Brandon Green, Daniel Muthu, Vignesh Gunashekar, Mohammad Asrar
The battle was contested evenly throughout the early minutes of the game and Bengaluru United fielded a pretty strong midfield. BUFC were keen on passing and constructing the attack while keeping up the majority of the possession.
The major breakthrough of the match came just before the halftime with Pankaj Moula hitting the ball right at the top of the net. The attack commenced with a major lapse of concentration from the BUFC’s defender Primus. As his missed pass was converted into a quick counter by Gopi Singh who passed it into the box. Adjah sprinted in and gave it a roll but the ball was rebounded off the BUFC goalkeeper finding the feet of Pankaj Moula who concluded the whole move off calmly.
HT : BHWANIPORE FC 1-0 FC BENGALURU UNITED
The second half began with a couple of tactical changes for the southerners as they introduced Daniel Muthu and Ishan Dey in place of Ashraf Ali and Nicholas Fernandes (respectively) in the 53rd minute of the game.
Things were brightening up for the trailing side, as their midfielder Arun Kumar, got a golden opportunity inside the box, to snatch a goal back, but apparently he had other plans as he opted to cross instead which failed to reach it’s intended target. Amey Ranawade the wing back switched on to the flanks and played a more pressing role, however the Goan defender couldn’t manage to capitalize few times.
17 minutes into the second half and Adjah scored a bonker of a goal which took the opposition defense on a ride. Adjah received a long lobbed ball from Sayed and he did what he does the best ‘An absolute stunner!’ The addition of Jiten Murmu gave the side a much needed fresh spurt in pace. Murmu was finding in empty pockets and creating chances which kept the pressure building.
The Bengali Center Back duo of Chakladar and Kinshuk Debnath with a solid wall in the form of Goalkeeper Shilton Paul at the back, held the Bhawanipore defense intact and helped the team climb the top of the table.
On the other hand, FCBU having received many chances, failed to materialize any of them as they ended the game with 0 goals to their name. The team will definitely work on converting those narrow misses and will return back to the pitch with a lot of learnings for the many more matches yet to come.
FT : BHWANIPORE FC 2-0 FC BENGALURU UNITED
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