Second Division side FC Bengaluru United registered their first Durand Cup win on debut when they beat CRPF 1-0 with Pedro Manzi’s second-half strike at the Kalyani Stadium on Monday afternoon. Richard Hood coached the team, notably touting a brilliant performance by central reserve policemen in the first half, thus finishing second behind Mohammedan Sporting in Group A of the 130th edition of the prestigious football tournament.
CRPF started to rise in the game in the first half, especially thanks to a stellar performance from midfielder Dashpreet Singh, though Manji was eyeing the target. CRPF had at least five corners in the half and came close to scoring a couple of times but their forwards Amit Gayan and Ramesh Dolai could not take advantage of it.
The red and black stripes from the south advanced in the 63rd minute when Manji finally scored. He missed a few more chances in the first half and hit the crossbar with a free-kick minutes before the goal.
Whatever hopes CRPF were to make a comeback, they suffered a sneak peek in the 27th minute of the second half when, just before the hydration break, their keeper Musa Antony was sent off for a handball by referee Rahul Gupta just outside the box. He was immediately replaced by reserve keeper Shakti Das, but it was still an uphill task for the 10-man CRPF side.
The policemen still fought well with a Rajinder, who incidentally was a good game, effort from right outside the box, close to five minutes, missed the target and failed to upset Bengaluru keeper Kunjang Bhutia. He also hit the crossbar in the last moments but still could not equalize.
Pedro Manzi was declared man of the match for the game.
Speaking after the game, Manji said, “I came to India just two weeks ago and I am happy to score the first goal for the team in the first Durand Cup. I am loving my stay and the team and the owners, officials. has treated me like family.”
Hoping for a better performance in the next game, defeated CRPF coach Dayal Singh Bhati said, “We had a few chances in the first half and then some decisions in the second half affected the result. But I am happy with the performance because Bengaluru are a good team and we fought really well.
FC Bengaluru United head coach Richard Hood also said after the game, “We are happy with three points because it was the target and we hope to take nine points and achieve it. The conditions are very different in Bangalore but as professionals we are used to adjusting to all situations and have settled down well.”
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