Lalpekhlua On Target As Young Blues Taste Maiden Defeat Of U15 JSW Youth Cup

Bengaluru FC tasted defeat for the first time in the U15 JSW Youth Cup, against League leaders Sports Odisha, at the JSW Township, in Bellary, on Tuesday. The BFC U15 Boys went down 4-2, with goals from Bhenketeswar Oram (30′, 52′), Sujit Barla (88′) and an own goal from Rohen Narengbam (80′) enough to cancel out Bengaluru’s first half lead after Lalpekhlua’s strike, along with an own goal from Prashant Ekka (13’) gave the Young Blues a 2-1 lead going into the break.

Bengaluru started the game on the front foot, and took the lead just 13 minutes in courtesy of an own goal from Sports Odisha custodian Prashant Ekka. A long punt from the Blues’ backline bounced awkwardly for the goalkeeper, as his attempted clearance went into the back of his own net.

The lead didn’t last long for the Young Blues as Oram equalized for Odisha, taking advantage of a defensive error by the Young Blues. Bengaluru reclaimed the lead once again when Ashik Adhikari’s low cross into the box was spilt by the `keeper, allowing Lalpekhlua to pounce on the loose ball and slott it beyond Prashant.

Into the second period, Sports Odisha switched gears and equalized inside ten minutes. Having won a corner on the far side, the set-piece found an unmarked Oram in the box and the forward nodded it beyond Rohen to level things up at 2-2. Odisha completed their comeback with a third goal with ten minutes left to play when Sujit’s strike was fumbled by Rohen and into his own net.

Sujit Barla sealed the victory for the visitors with a fourth goal, scored with less than two minutes left to play. Bengaluru next face RoundGlass Punjab FC, on May 12th, at the same venue.