Bhubaneswar, Dec 2 (UNI) Odisha FC delivered a magnificent performance to clinch an entertaining 4-2 victory against Bengaluru FC at the Kalinga Stadium here in the Indian Super League (ISL) match.
The Juggernauts truly brought their A-game to the forefront, especially in the offensive department, as they left the Blues with little respite and secured their third consecutive win in this stadium against Bengaluru FC in the ISL on Sunday night.
The home side didn’t take too much time to settle in, opting to dictate the pace of the proceedings right from the onset of the match. They got the lead in the 10th minute courtesy of their dynamic and emerging attacking duo of Isak Vanlalruatfela and Jerry Mawihmingthanga, with the latter playing his 100th ISL game for the club.
Amid an Odisha FC offensive move, both these players made timely runs into the Bengaluru FC box, with Isak overcoming a challenge from the seasoned Rahul Bheke to lay the ball in Jerry’s path, which Jerry slotted in from the right side to break into a joyous celebration.
This strike opened the floodgates for Odisha FC to operate on the offensive, as they kept pushing the right buttons to unlock the Bengaluru FC backline. They ran circles in the final third, teasing the defensive unit from both flanks and winning corners and set-pieces alike.
One such corner in the 27th minute resulted in Sergio Lobera’s trusted lieutenants, Ahmed Jahouh and Mourtada Fall, coupling to notch a goal with their reliable formula.
Jahouh’s kick was directed on the far post to the towering Fall, who made no mistake in nodding the ball home and doubling the home team’s lead – marking his 20th headed goal in the ISL, the highest in the league.
Odisha FC sustained the said pressure, as striker Diego Mauricio delivered two fantastic solo efforts to bag their following two goals.
In the added time of the first half, he received a pass from Jerry Lalrinzuala, but then glided his way past the Bengaluru FC box to unleash a thunderous right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the bottom right corner, tripling his team’s lead going into the half-time break.
The second essay was fairly more balanced, with Bengaluru FC finding some groove back by netting twice, however, the first half ensured that the match was tilted heavily in the favour of the Juggernauts.
Sunil Chhetri tried to undo that with a headed goal in the 52nd minute, as he directed a cross from Ryan Williams into the back of the net with absolute ease.
However, the back and forth nature of the clash continued with Mauricio repeating his heroics in the 60th minute. He drove through the centre of the Bengaluru FC box, slicing it seamlessly to get into a comfortable position at the centre of the 18-yard area before depositing the ball at the centre of the goal to get Odisha FC’s fourth strike of the night.
Bengaluru FC found a late solace when Edgar Mendez headed in a cross from Roshan Singh in the 88th minute, but there wasn’t ample time left in the clock after that for the visitors to make a push to get something out of this high-octane encounter.
Odisha FC will next play against Mumbai City FC on December 5, whereas Bengaluru FC are set to face Kerala Blasters FC on December 7.
