Bengaluru: A late Matheus Gonçalves goal in the extra-time helped Jamshedpur FC hand Bengaluru their second defeat at home in successive matches at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Thursday. The match looked destined for a draw until the Brazilian on loan from Flamengo, stepped up to score from the spot securing his side’s second win in the competition.
Coming on the back of a defeat against Chennaiyin at home, ‘West Block Blues’ were expected to bounce back in style at the fortress but it was fellow debutants Jamshedpur who had the final laugh after Rahul Bheke had brought down substitute Sameehg Doutie in the penalty box.
Concerns were raised of who will take it when the ‘Men of Steel’ earned the penalty. Andre Bikey had missed it last time but Gonçalves scored a late dramatic winner ensuring all three points for the away side.
Despite the loss Bengaluru remained on the position with 12 points from seven outings. Leaders FC Goa however now has two matches at hand and a chance to create a six points gap at the pole position. Meanwhile, Jamshedpur climbed to the sixth position with nine points from six matches.
It was a fierce battle between the two debutants when the match began. Bengaluru as usual had more possession but it was Jamshedpur who had better chances in the first-half. Midfield lynchpin Mehtab Hossain limped off injured in the 38th minute after suffering from back pain.
Indian national team captain Sunil Chhetri, who had a great start to the campaign scoring three goals in the opening this matches however looked a pale shadow of himself. After a disappointing match against Chennai, the 33-year-old endured another frustrating night, guilty of missing some easy chances. A cheeky chip from Miku in the 33rd minute found the striker alone in the box, but he failed to keep the ball on target, hitting the side netting instead.
The Bengaluru captain also had the best chance of the match but failed to find the net after a Khabra through ball had found him one-on-one with Jamshedpur goalkeeper Subrata Paul. Nutmegging Tiri with a clever move, all Chhetri could do was hit Paul’s shoulders as another chance went begging.
In the end though, it was a dramatic finish to a match that looked destined for a draw at the end of an interesting 90 minutes of football that witnessed both the teams squander some easy chances throughout the match.