I-League 2015/16 – Ten-man Sporting ride on Odafa’s brace to stun Bengaluru

Starting Line-ups:

Coach Ashley Westwood made three changes to the team that won away against East Bengal and brought in Alwyn George, Vineeth and the new signing Michael Collins for Shankar, Zuala and Doungel in what was a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation.

The home side made a good start to the match by almost scoring with the first kick of the game. Vineeth’s cross from the right found Chhetri in the box, but the striker’s left-footed shot went anxiously wide of the goal to the disappointment of the home fans. But it was the away side that went ahead in the ninth minute with Sporting captain Odafa opening the scoring. Defender John Johnson’s heavy touch on the ball gifted the ball straight to the striker and his cracking shot from the top of the box gave Amrinder Singh in the goal no chance.

Within minutes, Odafa again tested Amrinder from outside the box, but a full-length dive from the custodian saved the home team from going further behind. But it went horribly wrong for Sporting in the 21 minute with centre back Dharmaraj Ravanan earning a second yellow card for elbowing Alwyn George. From there on, the home side dominated the rest of the half with only the finishing touches missing from an equalizer.

Bengaluru right back Rino Anto was dominating the right wing, and most of Bengaluru’s attack came down that side. Sunil Chhetri was running the channels, with able support from Kim Song Yong, while Michael Collins was pulling all the strings from the midfield.

In the 58 minute, Bengaluru had two glorious chances, first arrived from a free-kick taken by Beingaichho Beikhokhei, and the other from Lalchuanmawia’s shot from the edge of the box, which went over the bar.

Sporting replied almost immediately from the restart, but Densill Theobald’s shot went just wide of the far post, much to the relief of Amrinder in the Bengaluru goal.

Sporting showed more intent in attack after conceding the goal, with Theobald constantly troubling the Bengaluru defence. Finally, in the 73 minute, 10-man Sporting took the lead when Odafa scored his second goal of the match, with a delightful strike from outside the box. To Sporting’s credit, despite all the odds, they showed a lot of grit and determination, something they have missed at times this season so far.

Despite all the attacking changes Ashley Westwood made, Bengaluru failed to create any real opening in the final 20 minutes of the game. Despite their numerical disadvantage, Sporting defended compactly and managed to hold on to their 2-1 lead, to take a crucial win for them. The Goan club will hope that this helps in kick-starting their season.