AFC Cup finalist Bengaluru FC redeemed some pride by edging out Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the summit clash and claiming its second Federation Cup crown at the Barabati Stadium here on Sunday.
In the tightly contested tussle befitting a final, BFC overcame a bit of hard luck to ride on C.K. Vineeth’s extra-time brace and bag the prestigious title despite the unavailability of two of key players, Sunil Chhetri and Cameron Watson.
BFC showed a big heart and fought bravely even as Bagan had the ball in control for most part of the goalless first half. Most importantly, the Blues stuck to their well-planned defensive structure, led by John Johnson, Juanan Fernandez and Sandesh Jhingan, to close the gaps and force Bagan have a go at the goal through corners, free-kicks and long balls.
The stout BFC defence marked Bagan’s main weapon, Sony Norde, strongly and brought down the Haitian twice within the first quarter. Norde retaliated by pushing Harmanjot Khabra to invite a yellow card.
Lenny Rodrigues excelled with his supply as BFC, which sparkled with its off-the-ball running, created some nicely crafted. However, an agile Debjit Majumder was hard to beat under the bar.
Udanta Singh’s stylish shot off Eugeneson Lyngdoh cross from the right disturbed the net in the 20th minute, but the goal was disallowed as Seiminlen Doungel was marginally offside.
Bagan’s best chance came in the half-hour mark when Katsumi Yusa’s attempt off a corner was cleared by Jhingan from the goal mouth.
BFC, which witnessed some failed attempts from the industrious Udanta early in the second half, was again caught in the offside trap. Lyngdoh’s free-kick from the left was headed by Johnson and kicked in by Juanan, but the effort was flagged to the utter frustration of BFC.
Fantastic save
Bagan stepped up its attack and had its chances too. Balwant utilised a Norde pass to fire a long ranger, but Amrinder Singh dived to his right to palm away the threat. Soon, Norde’s angled shot missed the target by a whisker.
Amidst free flowing action towards the end of the regulation period, Bagan had a couple of opportunities but could not break the deadlock.
BFC experienced another frustrating moment when Cornell Glen’s chip from the left hit the right post in the third minute of extra time.
The Blues finally tasted success when C.K. Vineeth’s shot from just inside the box got deflected from a defender to beat Debjit in the 107th minute.
The Keralite, who had replaced Udanta around the hour mark, sealed the match by hitting home again following a brilliant solo.
The result (final): Bengaluru FC 2 (Vineeth 107, 119) bt Mohun Bagan 0.
