Bengaluru FC needed a late goal from Udanta Singh to beat Delhi Dynamos FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Monday. The match was Bengaluru captain Sunil Chhetri’s 150th appearance for the club and was a special occasion for the home fans assembled at the Fortress. Delhi had the better chances throughout the 90 minutes but couldn’t make them count.

The win was the Blues’ fifth victory in a row and took them to the top of the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) table. Bengaluru are now three points clear of second placed FC Goa with a game in hand. For Delhi, the result summed up what has been a disappointing season so far. The Lions are bottom of the table with just four points from nine matches and are virtually out of the contention for a top four finish.

  • Udanta Singh scored the only goal of the match on the 87th minute.
  • Delhi dominated the first-half and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had to make some crucial saves to keep Bengaluru in the match.
  • Bengaluru extended their winning streak to five matches with the victory.

The home team dominated possession in the early goings and found an opening on the ninth minute after Xisco Hernandez's brilliant long ball played Chhetri in. With the entire Sree Kanteerava Stadium holding its breath in anticipation of a Chhetri goal on his 150th appearance for Bengaluru, Delhi goalkeeper Albino Gomes made a crucial interception to disappoint the home crowd.

The away side got themselves back into the match as the half progressed and carved out a couple of half chances for themselves. Adria Carmona tested Gurpreet Singh Sandhu at the near post but his shot didn't have enough venom to worry the Bengaluru keeper.

The away team soon overcame their early jitters and was engineering some dangerous openings. Some great work by Nandhakumar Sekar down the right set up Andrija Kaludjerovic for a shot from a favourable position. The Serbian, however, missed the target and let Bengaluru off the hook.

Soon after, Lallianzuala Chhangte found himself one-on-one against the keeper after beating Bengaluru's offside trap. Gurpreet made himself big to deny Chhangte and keep the score 0-0.

Gurpreet had to come to his team's rescue again a few minutes later when he stretched out a foot to keep out Nandhakumar's drive from the right.

With both of Delhi's wingers, Chhangte and Nandhakumar, operating at full steam, the Bengaluru defence was constantly worried throughout the half. Delhi were the better team in the first 45 minutes but had no goals to show for it. The teams went in the break level at 0-0.

After being outplayed in the first-half, Bengaluru tried to get off the blocks fast after the restart. Chhetri’s scuffed shot from the edge of the box almost fell to Chencho Gyeltshen at the far post, but the Bhutanese international hesitated and the chance was gone. 

Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat brought on Erik Paartalu in place of Rino Anto within five minutes of the second-half to try and wrestle the midfield back from the visitors. The Australian's introduction added some much-needed steel to Bengaluru's midfield and allowed Udanta and Chhetri much more freedom going forward. Delhi, however, continued to chip in at the Bengaluru defence and came close with Carmona's volley. Gurpreet was well-placed to deal with the shot.

Bengaluru's Xisco had a big chance to grab the elusive first goal of the match. Substitute Semboi Haokip set him up beautifully with a clever chip, but the Spaniard’s shot was too close to Gomes.

On the other end, the Lions' wastefulness in front of the goal continued after Kaludjerovic failed to keep his header on target from five yards out. The miss would prove to be a costly one for the visitors. On the 87th minute, Udanta finally broke the deadlock with a diagonal shot from outside the box. The youngster's shot took a nick from one of Delhi's defenders and went inside the goal off the inside of the post. 1-0 to Bengaluru.

Bengaluru held on till the final whistle to ensure the victory, while Delhi were left to rue their missed chances.

HERO OF THE MATCH - Nishu Kumar

Bengaluru youngster Nishu Kumar was a livewire on the field tonight, popping up wherever his team needed him the most. He worked tirelessly throughout the ninety minutes and put in a shift to remember. He is tonight’s Hero of the Match.

CLUB AWARDS 

Club Award – Bengaluru FC

Swift Limitless Player of the Match – Udanta Singh 

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Semboi Haokip 

ISL Emerging Player of the Match – Lallianzuala Chhangte 

Hero of the Match – Nishu Kumar 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Bengaluru will be back at their home ground on November 30 to play against FC Pune City, while Delhi will play host to Mumbai City FC on December 3.

Watch the match highlights here

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Bengaluru FC 2018-2019Match Report