BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC banked on a solitary away goal to get past Paro FC in the AFC Cup South Asia qualifier preliminary Round 2 match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday. But Carles Cuadrat’s cruised to a 9-1 (10-1 on aggregate) victory against the Bhutanese champions in the second leg. It was their biggest-ever victory in any competition.
Thonkhosiem Haokip (6’, 26’, 66’, 85) scored four while Jamaican striker Deshorn Brown (29’, 54’, 64’) bagged three. Bengaluru’s new Spanish recruit Nili Perdomo, who set up three goals on Wednesday, struck once while defender Juanan Gonzalez (14’) continued Bengaluru’s dominance in set-pieces, heading in a corner. Former Bengaluru player Chencho Gyeltshen netted the solitary goal for the visitors. Bengaluru will take on Maziya Sports & Recreation Club of Maldives for a place in the AFC Cup group stage.
It was a one-sided affair from the word go. Paro defenders had no answer to Bengaluru’s build-up and pace. It took only six minutes for the hosts to break the deadlock. Australian playmaker Erik Paartalu set up Haokip with a long-ball. While Paro keeper Tobgay received the ball, he fumbled and Semboi took full advantage to open the floodgates.
Eight minutes later Juanan scored from a typical Bengaluru set-piece drill. Nili floated in a corner and Juanan headed home. The visitors, however, bounced back two minutes later through Gyeltshen. Stephane Dang gave a fine through ball and Gyeltshen made a fine run to beat his marker and the off-side trap. He cut in the first defender and smashed the top right corner to make it 2-1. However, the joy was only momentary. The first half ended 4-1 to the hosts.
The second half was no different either with Bengaluru custodian Prabhsukhan Gill almost untroubled. It was more of a training session for Bengaluru for the two difficult matches ahead in the ISL. Haokip scored the first-ever hat-trick of his career while Brown once again shone in the Bengaluru shirt.
However, it was Nili who was the star for Bengaluru. Operating on both the flanks on Wednesday, the former FC Barcelona player set up three goals while scoring one in the 78th minute to prove his worth. With an away visit to Kerala Blasters and a home match against ATK in the ISL, he will be an important asset for Cuadrat.
Bengaluru will visit the Maldives on February 19 to play Maziya while the return leg is scheduled a week later.