Second division side FC Bengaluru United registered a maiden Durand Cup win on debut as they outplayed CRPF by a solitary goal, scored by Pedro Manzi, at the Kalyani stadium on Monday afternoon. The Richard Hood coached side, staved off a gritty display by the Central Reserve Policemen, particularly in the first-half, to come up trumps and thereby take second place behind Mohammedan Sporting in Group A of the 130th edition of the iconic football tournament.
CRPF started on a perfect note, thanks in particular to a fine display by midfielder Dashpreet Singh. CRPF had as many as five corners in the half and came close to scoring a couple of times, but their forwards Amit Gayen and Ramesh Dolai could not capitalise the chances. The team from the South in Red and Black stripes finally went ahead in the 63rd minute when Manzi netted the goal. He had earlier missed a couple of more chances in the first half and had hit the crossbar from a free-kick just minutes ahead of the goal.
Whatever hopes CRPF had of staging a comeback was dealt a stealth blow in the 27th minute of the second half, when just before the hydration break, their custodian Moses Antony was sent-off by the referee for a handball 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 on gamely with a Rajinder, who also had a good game incidentally, effort from just outside the box, five minutes from close, missing the target and failing to trouble Bengaluru keeper Kunzang Bhutia. He also hit the crossbar in the dying minutes but still could not get the equaliser.
Pedro Manzi was declared the Man of the Match for the game.
“I arrived just two weeks before in India and I am happy to score the first goal for the team in their first Durand Cup appearance,” said Manzi. The vanquished CRPF coach Dayal Singh Bhati hoped for a better show in the next game saying, “We had a few chances in the first half and then in the second half some decisions influenced the outcome. But I am happy with the performance as Bengaluru are a good team and we fought very well.”
On Tuesday, Indian Super League (ISL) heavyweights FC Goa will be up against regimental side Army Green Football Team. The match is slated for a 3 pm kick-off at the Vivekananda YubabharatiKrirangan (VYBK), Kolkata.
