BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC's slim hope of reaching the Indian Super League playoffs came to a crashing end after their 1-2 loss to FC Goa at the Fatorda Stadium on Sunday. It also means that the Blues have failed to make it to the semifinals of the competition for the first time since their entry in the 2017-18 season.
All the goals came in the first half. Igor Angulo (20') and Redeem Tlang (23') helped Goa take 2-0 lead, but Bengaluru’s Suresh Wangjam (33) scored one to sow the seeds of a comeback. This result has helped Goa, who stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games, climb to third place with 30 points and strengthened their position as well.
The first 15 minutes witnessed both teams start cautiously as they did not want to concede an early goal, and rightly so in such a crucial match. But, what followed next for the remainder of the first half was absolutely entertaining with both teams involved in some box-to-box action.
It was Goa, who managed to break the deadlock as Glan Martins, who had an impressive game, stole the ball off Erik Paartalu's feet and with the ball at Angulo's feet, he slotted the ball home. They did not take much time to double their lead as Tlang placed the ball into the right corner after the Bengaluru defenders failed to clear the ball in the 23rd minute.
Bengaluru also pulled one back with Wangjam scoring a wonderful goal from a tight angle immediately after the water break. The goal lifted the Blues, who should have drawn level in the 38th minute as Cleiton Silva missed a free header. He did not even test the goalkeeper. Few minutes later, the striker got another chance but his header struck the framework to deny him another league goal. Though they went into the first half break, trailing 1-2, Naushad Moosa would be happy with the way his team finished the half.
The Blues could not pressurise the Goa defenders after they came back for the second half. In fact, Goa were playing some good football, and threatened to have that two-goal cushion. Angulo should have scored his second of the contest in the 55th minute, but his chip was wide. Going by the goal-scoring form he has been in the competition, one would have expected the Spaniard to hit the target.
Bengaluru, to be fair, did not get many clear cut chances to score in the second 45. One has to give credit to the Gaurs, who looked solid and managed the game well. Goa finished strong and could have scored their third in the dying minutes, but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu came up with good diving saves twice to keep it at 1-2.