Muzeeb’s Strike Hands BFC Their First Defeat Of The Campaign
Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC suffered their first loss in the BDFA Super Division League after going down 0-1 to MEG & Centre in a Round Two encounter at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Sunday.
Attacker Muzeeb’s 44th minute strike turned out to be the decider in a game which saw both sides square off for the first time since the Puttaiah Memorial Cup final.
Going into the game, Coach Naushad Moosa made two changes to the line up with Rakesh Oram and Lalengzama Vangchhia making way for Namgyal Bhutia and Edmund Lalrindika.
The game had a slow start with both sides opting to play cautiously before the Blue Colts created back-to-back chances around the quarter hour mark. Edmund tried setting up strike-partner Naorem Roshan Singh with the low cross in from the right, but it had too much power for the latter to get a touch, and then defender Gursimrat Singh Gill was denied from range by rival custodian Sharath.
While the Blue Colts kept pushing forward, it was MEG who broke the deadlock a minute before the break. BFC’s failure to clear a ball saw MEG push up from the right and veteran winger Ram’s neat cross in was headed home by Muzeeb.
The Blue Colts began the second half aggressively pushing ahead right from the word go. Meanwhile, MEG, who were protecting a narrow lead, opted to attack on counters.
While both sides were trading blows, the best chance of the half fell to Edmund in the 73rd minute. Midfielder Myron Mendes skipped past a couple of challenges before making his way into the box on the left and chipping in a cross towards Edmund. The striker with the goal at his mercy had a brilliant opportunity to level scores for the Blue Colts, but had his header stick into the ground right in front of him, allowing the rival defense, who would’ve been beaten had the attempt been on target, to clear the threat. With Bengaluru throwing bodies ahead in the final minutes, MEG managed to defend deep and protect their one-goal advantage to seal a narrow win.
The Blue Colts now take on Students Union on Friday, November 16.
