BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC defeated Tampines Rovers 1-0 in the first leg of their AFC Cup quarterfinal; a result most fans would have expected, including the players and the coach. But, things had changed 48 hours prior to the clash due to Cauvery river issue.
The city was burning, tension had broken out, and Section 144 had been imposed; things that nobody would have expected. The game, however, took place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium at a revised time. Both the teams’ practice sessions had been hampered by the unrest.
The Blues’ fortress was without its soul: the audience and, in particular, the West Block Blues. Apart from a few smatterings of noise from the media box, the usual chanting and the adrenaline rush among fans were absent. The Blues, though, did not disappoint their fans who were glued to television sets.