A moment of madness from Samad Ali Mallick proved costly for East Bengal as Bengaluru FC romped to a 4-1 win to clinch the inaugural AIFF Super Cup here on Friday.
With the match poised one-all at the Kalinga Stadium, the young defender’s red card allowed the Blues to seal the game, through goals from skipper Sunil Chhetri and Miku in the second half.
However, it could have spelled danger for Gurpreet Singh and Bengaluru as early as the seventh minute. The goalkeeper appeared to bring down an onrushing Ansumana Kromah, with the goal gaping, but, the referee didn’t deem it as a last man challenge.
Set-pieces were in focus as both teams opened their scoring from corner kicks in the opening half.
Right before the cooling break, Katsumi Yusa crossed it into a crowded area, to which, Gurpreet could only get his hand to. Kromah reacted quickest to the loose ball with an overhead kick to give East Bengal the lead.
Nevertheless, it was all Bengaluru from there on. In the 39th minute, Bheke outwrestled Kromah to thump in a powerful header from a Victor Perez delivery to make it 1-1.
The Blues’ persistent pressure almost got them a second, but Perez fluffed his shot when played through on goal.
The turning point of the game came when Ali Mallick struck Subhasish Bose across his face in first half added time. The referee saw no option but to send him off.
The Red and Golds managed to keep Bengaluru at bay for a little over 20 minutes in the second period before the Blues were awarded a penalty; Gurwinder Singh had handled a cross from a corner inside the box. Chhetri stepped up to bury it past the goalkeeper.
In the 71st minute, East Bengal defenders offered Miku too much time inside the box as he received the ball, before turning inside to curl it into the top corner for the third. The strike prompted celebrations in the BFC camp.
Bengaluru managed to see out the game from there before Chhetri crowned the win with a header in the dying minutes.
The result: East Bengal 1 (Ansumana Kromah 28) lost to Bengaluru FC 3 (Rahul Bheke 39, Sunil Chhetri 69-pen, 90, Miku 71).
