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Football ISL: Mohun Bagan outplay Bengaluru 2-0

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Fatorda Goa: Two goals in a space of seven minutes  enabled Mohun Bagan  outplay Bengaluru 2-0 in  the Hero Indian Super League,  the JL Nehru Stadium in Fatorda on Tuesday.

In a first for Bagan this season, two first-half goals signalled the downfall for a beleaguered Bengaluru  who were punished for their defensive mistakes, gifting two mouth-watering set pieces for the Kolkata side to convert with glee. Roy Krishna (37′ Pen.) beat Gurpreet  Sandhu from the spot before Marcelinho (44′) put the game to rest with a freekick of the highest order.

The Mariners stand second with 33 points from 16 games while Bengaluru  remains 6th with 19 points, 4 points adrift of the top-four chasing pack with one less game to play.

It was Bengaluru who looked more confident with the ball in the initial stages but Bagan got things under control. Bagan pressed aggressively, forcing Bengaluru  into mistakes.

They were fierce with their attack and Marcelinho forced an early save from Gurpreet  Sandhu. The Brazilian darted into the Bengaluru  goal but his shot was saved by Gurpreet.

While Bengaluru had more possession, MB attacked better and had more shots at goals. Gupreet was constantly called upon with him keeping Krishna out early on. He came up with another fine save, getting a hand to Carl McHugh’s fierce shot which should have seen the back of the net.

After a series of raids, Bagan were awarded a penalty when Pratik Chaudhari brought down Krishna in the penalty box after the Fijian was set through on goal by Marcelinho. Krishna sent the keeper in the wrong direction to put his side ahead.

Habas’ side went two goals ahead just before the break. Once again, Bengaluru  conceded from a set-piece. Harmanjot Khabra committed a foul on David Williams just outside the box. Marcelinho’s freekick snuck past Gurpreet, his second goal in three games.

Bengaluru  continued to dominate possession but lacked attempts on goal. MB continued to find the right time to pounce on opportunities. Sandesh Jhingan tried a powerful strike which Gurpreet once again kept out. 

The custodian prevented Bengaluru  from losing by a bigger margin.

Manvir Singh had a chance when he was set through on the right flank. But with options in the box, Manvir tried for glory only for Gurpreet to make a strong save.

Bengaluru had to wait until the 87th minute for their first real chance. Sunil Chhetri managed to get past Jhingan and struck a low shot at goal but Arindam Bhattacharja dived to his right to deny the BFC skipper. 

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Football ISL: Keen contest on the cards as Bengaluru takes on Jamshedpur

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Fatorda,Goa: When Bengaluru and Jamshedpur face each other in the Hero Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium on Monday, one thing is for sure — the contest will be alive right until the final whistle.

The match-up holds the promise of an entertaining contest as second-half free scorers Bengaluru — joint-highest scorers in the period — face one of the league’s weakest goal leakers in the second half — Jamshedpur.

Sixth-placed Jamshedpur have conceded 66.67% of their goals in the second half with only Kerala Blasters (8 goals) and SC East Bengal (11 goals) conceding more. Besides that, four of the nine goals Owen Coyle’s side has conceded have come in the last 15 minutes of the match — the most by any team — an aspect Bengaluru will be keen to take advantage of.

For Bengaluru, placed third, inconsistencies this season have been plain to see. Their 0-1 defeat to  Mohun Bagan showed they can be beaten, as they were handed their first league defeat of the campaign. Meanwhile, Jamshedpur were denied points against  Goa after a crucial disallowed goal followed by Igor Angulo’s late winner.

While acknowledging Jamshedpur deserved more points, Bengaluru  coach Carles Cuadrat expects a ‘hurting and hungry’ Jamshedpur side to bounce back hard.

“Jamshedpur are doing really good work and they deserve to have more points on the table,” said Cuadrat. “We have to control Jamshedpur. Their foreigners are getting better with every passing week, and their young Indian players are also doing well. Jamshedpur will be a tough opponent to face, but we have a plan, and we will try to get the three points.”

While scoring goals has never been a problem for Bengaluru , their defense hasn’t looked at its best. They have conceded 8 goals in the first 7 matches of the season, while shipping just 9 goals during the 2019-20 season.

Jamshedpur will bank on Nerijus Valskis to cause problems for the opposition defense, having scored six goals. The Lithuanian, however, is yet to score against Bengaluru . “We have a plan, a good structure and we have conceded the least goals in the previous season. We maintain a high line and it is part of the plan. Valskis could not score against us last season and we will try to do the right things in the next game as well,” Cuadrat said.

Owen Coyle is optimistic about the upcoming game. Aitor Monroy, the leading chance-creator for Jamshedpur, will also hold key alongside Valskis in attack. “It’s a tough game for both teams. Bengaluru  are well respected. They have a terrific coach and very good players. Very hard working and organised team. We are looking forward to playing against the best teams and best players. We are capable of winning against best. But we need to be at our best against a very good team .” 

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Football ISL: Bengaluru, NorthEast aim to keep unbeaten streak intact

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Fatorda Goa:  Bengaluru and NorthEast United will look to keep their unbeaten streak intact when they face each other in the Hero Indian Super League at the Fatorda Stadium, here on Tuesday.

Both teams are coming off morale-boosting wins. Bengaluru notched up their first win of the campaign against Chennaiyin while NorthEast got back to winning ways with a victory over  East Bengal after two straight draws.

The match will pit Bengaluru’s defence against NorthEast’s attack. While the Blues have been solid at the back, they are yet to score from open play. The Highlanders, on the other hand, have scored in every game they have played so far.

Bengaluru coach Carles Cuadrat knows his team is in for a tough match, but stated that he had all the confidence in his team’s abilities. “It’s going to be a very tactical match because they are a very well-organised team,” he said. “In three games, we have two clean sheets. I think we are showing a lot of consistency in defence. We look like a very well-organised team.” 

“During my time as Bengaluru coach, we have only lost one time against Chennai, we have never lost against Goa. What I mean is that it’s very clear that we are a very consistent team with a clear plan. It’s very difficult to play against us. At the same time, we know that we have room for improvement and that is what we are trying to do,” Cuadrat said.

NEU coach Gerard Nus too is planning to play to his team’s strengths and will not change the way they play on Tuesday. “There are things that are principal to our style that we will not change because we believe in those. There are things that we will have to take into consideration regarding the opponents. So obviously it’s a mix,” he said.

NEU have never beaten their opponents in the league stage before and on current form, this is a great opportunity for Nus to set that record straight. But he is not underestimating his opponents despite their less-than-stellar start to the season. “The truth is that Bengaluru won the title two years ago. They were in the playoffs last season. That tells you already how good they are. 

“They’re a massive side. I’m really concerned about the game tomorrow because we did not have a long time to prepare. We played two days ago. But it doesn’t matter. That’s the way it is and we are going to fight from the first minute till the last,” he said.

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Football ISL: Chennaiyin looking for a win in ‘special game’ against Bengaluru

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Vishal Kaith Goalkeeper of Chennaiyin FC. Photo by: Saikat Das / SPORTZPICS for ISL


Goa: Chennaiyin will hope to get back to winning ways when they take on arch-rivals Bengaluru  in the Hero Indian Super League at the GMC Stadium here on Friday.

After a brilliant start to the season, trouncing Jamshedpur , Csaba Laszlo’s men endured a frustrating draw against Kerala Blasters where they were forced to split the points despite clearly being the better team. With Bengaluru struggling to develop momentum after two straight draws, Chennaiyin will fancy their chances for a win.

Previous matches between Chennaiyin and Bengaluru have always been heated affairs with the emotions between the two sets of fans usually adding to the rivalry. Laszlo may have just started his stint at Chennaiyin but the significance of the fixture is not lost on him. 

“It’s a special game and it’s like a derby for us. We will do everything possible to win because if we can collect three points, we can stabilise our position in the table,” he said. He will look to his defence to provide the platform for his attackers to grab the three points. With just one goal conceded in their two matches, the Chennaiyin defence has made their best-ever start to the Hero ISL. The likes of Eli Sabia and Enes Sipovic have looked regal at the back.

There are problems aplenty for Bengaluru coach Carles Cuadrat. His team is struggling to find the attacking impetus that they’ve never been short of in the previous seasons. Bengaluru have attempted just 12 shots in their two games and got only three of them on target, the least by any team in the league so far in both respects. His front-three of Sunil Chhetri, Cleiton Silva and Kristian Opseth have failed to fire so far.

Cuadrat, however, maintains that he has positives to look at. “The team has been showing a lot of consistency with very clear patterns in the way we play, in our defensive structure. I think that we had a moment in the Goa game where we suffered a little bit. That is where the other team scored. For the rest of the game, we controlled the other team’s attack really well and it was the same against Hyderabad. The opposition was not creating chances in both games.” he said.

“We all know that we have to improve, the way we arrive in the other box. And we are working on that,” he concluded.

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