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MARGAO:A rock-solid defence coupled with Sunil Chhetri\u2019s brilliance up front propelled Bengaluru FC to taste their maiden Hero Federation Cup success edging 10-man Dempo SC 2-1 here at Fatorda\u2019s Nehru Stadium on Sunday (January 11, 2015).<\/p>\n
Chhetri and super-sub Robin Singh scored either side of Tolgay Ozbey\u2019s first-half injury time equaliser to hand the Blues of India their second title in the space of eight months.<\/p>\n
Rowilson Rodrigues was sent off in the second half for a studs-up lunge on Thoi Singh.<\/p>\n
English centre-back Curtis Osano was adjudged the Hero of the Final while Dempo\u2019s Romeo Fernandes bagged the Hero of the Tournament Award for his stellar performances throughout the Cup competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are delighted at this win, and this shows what good team work can do,\u201d Coach Ashley Westwood told reporters at the post match Media Interaction.
\u201cThis sets us up perfectly for the Hero I-League and I am really happy with the way the boys responded to the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving said that I maintain that we cannot stretch our legs thinking we are the best in India. We have a lot of areas to work on and the I-League will be competitive to say the least,\u201d the gaffer added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI congratulate Bengaluru FC to the win,\u201d his counterpart Arthur Papas added.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am proud of the way my boys played till the end with one man down. They have been excellent throughout the competition and this is the first time we have been down.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Romeo, the Australian tactician added: \u201cIt\u2019s great to see Romeo improving so rapidly and that only augurs well for Indian Football. I hope he continues this in the I-League.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joint top-scorer of the tournament along with Tolgay, Chhetri further added that \u201cthis triumph is very special.\u201d
\u201cWe have worked as a unit and individual glory means little to this club. Even if I would not have been the top scorer and we won the Cup, I would be over the moon.\u201d
Coming to the match which according to Papas was how \u2018a Cup Final should be\u2019, Chhetri opened the scoring converting easily from the spot after Eugeneson
Lyngdoh was hacked down inside the box by Haroon Amiri.<\/p>\n
Dempo drew level deep into stoppage time, this time Amiri tugged down by John Johnson inside the area. Tolgay netted from 12 yards. Holicharan Narzary missed a few good chances at the end of the match as Dempo looked to stretch the tie to extra time despite being a man down.<\/p>\n
The result means that Dempo\u2019s wait for a Cup triumph continues. Their last and only hurrah came way back in 2004.<\/p>\n
Both sides made one change each. While Thoi Singh replaced Siam Hanghal for BFC, Peter Carvalho took the place of suspended Lenny Rodrigues.
After a cagey few opening minutes where both sides took a measure of each other, Sean Rooney failed to meet a Sunil floater and the ball was cleared for a corner. From the Joshua Walker flag kick, Eugeneson was pulled down by Amiri inside the area and the referee had no choice but to point towards the dreaded spot.<\/p>\n
Sunil stepped up, paused in his run up and sent goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani the wrong way burying the ball low to the keeper\u2019s right.
Stung by the early setback, the local outfit pushed for the equaliser. But the famed BFC centre backs were more than up to the task every time Tolgay, Romeo and Mandar combined in the final third.<\/p>\n
Johnson marked Tolgay all the way not allowing the in-form Aussie any space to manoeuvre. One long punt from Amiri on top of the box found Tolgay in a good spot but in the blink of an eye the former Middleborough man was there to avert the danger.<\/p>\n
BFC were dealt a blow when Walker limped off in the 24th minute forcing Ashley Westwood to pull Rooney back into the midfield with Robin Singh replacing Walker to go up front.<\/p>\n
Perhaps exploiting Walker\u2019s hold-up play which went missing after his early departure, Tolgay made a buccaneering run down the BFC middle dancing past defenders to get into the box but to the local supporters\u2019 dismay pulled disappointingly wide of target.<\/p>\n
Soon after, Romeo strayed inches wide from close. Dempo\u2019s relentless efforts bore fruit courtesy BFC foul play deep into first half stoppage time. Johnson hauled back Amiri inside the box while Lalthuammawia Ralte collected the corner with ease.<\/p>\n
Tolgay smashed the penalty kick with aplomb sending the keeper the wrong way.<\/p>\n
Dempo showed more enterprise after the break with all to play for, until Rowilson was given marching orders for a rash challenge on Thoi compounding to their problems after Tolgay had to be substituted four minutes into the half for a hamstring strain.<\/p>\n
A goal and a man down, it was an uphill task for the five-time I-League winners. But had Holicharan Narzary not been so profligate up front in the dying minutes, they could have staged an inspiring fightback.<\/p>\n
CHAMPIONS: BENGALURU FC<\/strong> Chhetri and super-sub Robin Singh scored either side of Tolgay Ozbey\u2019s first-half injury time equaliser to hand the Blues of India their second title in the space of eight months.<\/p>\n Rowilson Rodrigues was sent off in the second half for a studs-up lunge on Thoi Singh.<\/p>\n English centre-back Curtis Osano was adjudged the Hero of the Final while Dempo\u2019s Romeo Fernandes bagged the Hero of the Tournament Award for his stellar performances throughout the Cup competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football-football"],"yoast_head":"\n
RUNNERS UP: DEMPO SC<\/strong>
HERO OF THE TOURNAMENT: ROMEO FERNANDES<\/strong>
HERO OF THE FINAL: CURTIS OSANO<\/strong>
TOP SCORERS: SUNIL CHHETRI AND TOLGAY OZBEY<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MARGAO:A rock-solid defence coupled with Sunil Chhetri\u2019s brilliance up front propelled Bengaluru FC to taste their maiden Hero Federation Cup success edging 10-man Dempo SC 2-1 here at Fatorda\u2019s Nehru Stadium on Sunday (January 11, 2015).<\/p>\n