Delhi: A 20 year-old Lallianzuala Chhangte kept Delhi Dynamos’ hope alive with a special performance that helped the Lions defeat the much more fancied Bengaluru FC 2-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
In a game that was expected to be a mere formality for Bengaluru to pick up all three points and climb to top of the table, Delhi sprung up a surprise, one that not just opened up the league, but also kept the Dynamos still in the hunt for a place in the play-offs.
Desperate for a win after a streak of defeats, seven in nine, the Lions started the game on the front foot but it was the visitors who should have gone ahead. Dimas Delgado’s defence-splitting pass in the 18th minute found left back Harmanjot Khabra through on goal. But the latter’s shot was too close to Delhi goalkeeper Arnab Das Sharma, who rushed off his goal-line.
However there was no stopping Chhangte. The Mizoram lad who had already made his debut as an 18 year-old in 2015 looked the brightest in an important match for the Dynamos. Constantly troubling the opposition defence with his clever runs upfront, the youngstar was the first to score on the evening.
His raw pace was menacing, that left Bengaluru defence exposed more than often and his goal eventually came from one such runs. Initiating a coutner-attack in the 72nd minute, he was at end of a brilliant move from right-back Pritam Kotal, tapping the ball into an empty net after his senior pro had opend up the entire opposition defence with a curled ball into the box.
This was over an hour after Chhangte had come close to scoring in just the sixth minute of the match, but shot wide of the target. He had another three in the next 34 minutes but missed all before scoring in the 72nd minute.
Bengaluru however never looked the same side fans have been accustomed to this season. They were clueless against an organised Delhi defense while equally negligible in midfield and that coupled with just three shots on target was a match the entire team would hope to forget soon.
But coach Albert Roca, not the one to give up threw up his best cards possible as Paartalu, George and Antonio Dovale all came in search for the equaliser but ended up piling more misery on themselves when Subhashish Bose brought down Guyon Fernandez in the box, a move for which he was shown a straight red.
Guyon then made no mistake from the spot sealing in what was Delhi’s first win at home this season and probably their best. It still kept them positioned last, but decreased the gap to just three with Jamshedpur, whoa are placed at eight.