Federation Cup: Relegated Aizawl knockout I-League Champs Bengaluru
Joel Sunday once again proved to be the difference as Aizawl thrashed newly crowned I-League champions Bengaluru FC 2-3 at Bangalore on Tuesday. Aizawl had a 2-1 lead from the first leg at home, and with a 5-3 aggregate win, the recently relegated I-league team have knocked out the champions.
Bengaluru FC: Amrinder (GK), Nishu, Johnson, Osano, Keegan, Lyngdoh, Zuala, Collins, Vineeth, Chhetri, Kim
Aizawl FC: Poirei (GK), Chigozie, Lalruatthara, Lalchhawnkima, Lallawmawma, Sunday, David, Zohmingmawia, Jaryan, Kinowaki, Khiangte
Aizawl did the impossible in the first leg, and they arrived at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium with a slim one-goal lead and a lot of belief to complete the upset. Bengaluru FC manager Ashley Westwood made a couple of changes to his team – young Nishu Kumar replaced Rino Anto, while CK Vineeth came into the side in place of Udanta Singh.
The away side did not show any nerves, that one would expect them to, despite playing away at the home of the I-League champions in front of their famous home support. As the match progressed, Bengaluru started dominating possession in the midfield, however, it was Aizawl who took the crucial lead in the 26th minute.
Alfred Jaryan picked up an unmarked Joel Sunday, who scored the winner in the first leg, in the final third with a simple pass. The forward did not have to put in much of an effort to beat Nishu, who went down in the box, before beating Amrinder Singh in the Bengaluru goal with a well-placed shot.
The home team struck back immediately though, and within two minutes, the parity was restored. The goal arrived from a poor mistake by Aizawl defender Emma Chigozie, who gave the ball away to CK Vineeth from a miserably attempted clearance. The Kerala striker brought his team back into the context by finding the top corner of the net with an immaculate strike.
However, the parity was short lived. Joel Sunday struck again, and once again the origin of the goal was a terrible mistake at the back. Lack of communication between Keegan Pereira and John Johnson allowed Jaryan to once again pick out Joel in the box, and the Nigerian once again found the back of the net to make it 1-2 before halftime.
Any hopes that Bengaluru might have had of making a comeback in the second half, were quickly blown away after the restart. In the 49th minute, Aizawl skipper David Lalrinmuana scored the third goal for his team to give them an unassailable lead – and it was a strike to remember. Jaryan was brought down at the edge of the box by Osano, and Lalrinmuana produced a delightful free-kick from the set-piece that found the net while Amrinder was rooted to his spot.
Bengaluru pushed hard to salvage some pride, and they did get a consolation when Udanta Singh was brought down inside the box by Brandon Vanlalremdika in the 73rd minute. Sunil Chhetri stepped up to take the resultant penalty and made it 2-3.
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