AFC Cup: Daniel strike seals narrow BFC win
Posted March 15th, 2018, 10:14 AM IST
The hosts improved their head-to-head record against the Bangladesh Premier League champions to 2-1, with both teams having won a match each in last season’s continental cup campaign.
With a small matter of an Indian Super League final to play on Saturday, head coach Albert Roca did a 360-degree rotation of his squad by making 11 changes to the starting line-up. On the bench, only Subhasish Bose and Daniel Segovia were the only first-team regulars in a squad largely comprised of fringe and youth players. New signing Victor Perez made his first start for the club.
The visitors took the game to the opposition in the opening exchanges, with Japanese playmaker Kojima Seiya and Nigerian forward Emeka Onuaha trying to force an opening. The former struck from a tight angle but BFC goalkeeper Lalthuammawia palmed away comfortably in the 35th minute.
The midfield trio of Perez, Alwyn Geroge and Semboi Thongkhosiem combined well to feed Daniel, and striker came within inches of a goal in the first half.
Both teams vied for ascendancy in the middle of the park in a goalless first half.
The Blues came storming out in the second half and laid siege to the Abahani goal. Alwyn and right-back Sameer constantly found space down the right flank and supplied accurate balls for Perez and Semboi. The latter, who scored twice in the play-off stage home leg against TC Sports, missed a guilt-edged chance - firing wide on the volley after Sameer floated a pinpoint cross in the 55th minute.
Substitute forward Segovia came off the bench with half an hour to go and made the difference in breaking down a stubborn Abahani defence. Alwyn’s cross was neatly headed down by Segovia into Daniel’s path, and the Mizo goalscorer found the target with aplomb in the 72nd minute.
The Spaniard Segovia could have one of his own a few minutes later but struck meekly into the goalkeeper Sahidul Alam’s gloves.
Frenetic defending to close out the result ensued for the final 10 minutes, as BFC clinched all three points. The 2016 finalists will play Aizawl FC next in the group on April 5.
Earlier, Aizawl FC suffered a 1-3 drubbing at the hands of New Radiant in their maiden group stage AFC Cup match, with inspirational skipper Ali Ashfaq’s hat-trick leading the Maldivian charge.
- BATC: Indian women’s team reaches maiden final with 3-2 win over Japan
- India defeat England by 106 runs to level five-Test series 1-1
- FIR against gaming site, FB page as Tendulkar raises concerns over his deepfake video
- Telangana Sailors Shine at National Sailing Championships, Bag Medals
- Inaugural Edition of Indian Street Premier League to Begin from March 2
- Thrilled to welcome Hardik back home to Mumbai Indians, says Nita Ambani
- Techie dies of heart attack as India loses to Australia in World Cup final
- Carlos Alcaraz set to make ATP finals debut in Turin
- Pandya had hurt his left ankle while fielding of his own bowling in the game against Bangladesh in Pune on October 19
- Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek win their WTA Finals opening matches in straight sets
- Berlin to Host Germany's First Major WWE
- Para Asian Games: Gold rush continues as Deepthi Jeevanji clinches gold in women’s 400m-T20 final
- Indian cricket legend Bishan Singh Bedi passes away
- CWC 2023: After big ton, Warner credits IPL for success in ODIs
- India-Australia T20 set to dazzle Visakhapatnam
More Sports News
- Vijay Sethupathi’s heartwarming selfie with elderly voter goes viral
- ‘aha’ unveils promo for ‘Sarkaar Season 4’ featuring Sudigali Sudheer as host
- Record rains in UAE flood Dubai International Airport, disrupt travels
- Akshay Kumar joins Vishnu Manchu’s ‘Kannappa’ shoot in Hyderabad
- Suhana Khan shares joyful photos with Ananya Panday after KKR victory
- Kartik Aaryan says he’s ready for love, asks Neha Dhupia to find someone for him
- Indian film stars extend Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, and Navreh wishes
- Mrunal Thakur honored for ‘Hi Nanna’ performance, details inside
- Prithviraj-starrer ‘The Goat Life’ rakes it in: Rs 100 cr in 9 days
- Rashmika Mandanna’s ‘Srivalli’ takes center stage in Pushpa 2: The Rule poster drop
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: file_get_contents(): http:// wrapper is disabled in the server configuration by allow_url_fopen=0
Filename: views/newsdetails.php
Line Number: 29
Backtrace:
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/views/newsdetails.php
Line: 29
Function: file_get_contents
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 135
Function: view
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 77
Function: newsdetails
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Warning
Message: file_get_contents(http://www.indiaaffiliates.in/ads.php?size=300X250): failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found
Filename: views/newsdetails.php
Line Number: 29
Backtrace:
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/views/newsdetails.php
Line: 29
Function: file_get_contents
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 135
Function: view
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/application/controllers/News.php
Line: 77
Function: newsdetails
File: /home5/am2pm/public_html/index.php
Line: 315
Function: require_once