FC Bengaluru United (FCBU) put in a commanding performance to beat Indian Air Force (IAF) 4-2 in their second game in the ongoing Durand Cup tournament in Kolkata. A penalty taken by Pedro Manzi 19 minutes into the first half got FCBU on the scoreboard and they were soon 2-0 up in the 28th minute courtesy a smart strike from Yumnam Gopi Singh. Though Indian Air Force battled hard with two quick goals on either side of half-time to equalize, FCBU fought back through Gopi Singh (72) and Manzi (91) to seal a dominant performance.
FCBU started slowly, focusing on ball possession and keeping their defensive line solid, but it didn’t take them too long to get into their attacking groove. In the 20th minute Luka Majcen’s set-up to Ronaldo Oliveira and then Sanju Pradhan just went wide of the goal. Two minutes later, FCBU were awarded a penalty owing to a defensive lapse by IAF and Manzi cleanly netted the ball straight into the back of the goal. Soon after, a quick counter from Ronaldo to Manzi was neatly chopped over the defense to Gopi Singh who smartly nudged the ball past the goalkeeper to push FCBU 2-0 up. FCBU kept up the pressure on the IAF defensive line courtesy adroit plays from Manzi while wingbacks Ashraf Mondal and Kyansailang Khongsit worked hard to keep the IAF attacks at bay, not allowing them to penetrate the defence. However, against the run of play, minutes before the first half ended, IAF scored their first goal and soon after, minutes into the second half equalized.
FCBU, though, didn’t take long to regain their composure. They kept attacking the IAF defence and in the 72nd minute the deadlock was broken. A shot from Manzi deflected off the IAF defender; Gopi was alert to the chance and FCBU were 3-2 up. In the 91st minute, a through ball from Ronaldo set up an easy tap -in for Manzi for FCBU to seal an emphatic 4-2 victory. Gopi Singh was declared the Man of the Match and the Bengaluru club will be proud of the resilience they showed to fight back after they surrendered their early lead.
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