Indian Super League: Ten-man Chennaiyin FC hold Bengaluru

The match was an even affair, but Debjit’s red card after bringing down Roy Krishna outside the box could have turned the game decisively in BFC’s favour. Chennaiyin had exhausted their five substitutes and defender Vafa Hakhamaneshi had to do the goalkeeping duties for the last 10-odd minutes. It was nervous times for CFC but the defence held firm and did not allow Bengaluru strikers Krishna and Sunil Chhetri to take a crack at the goal.

BFC started the game in a whirlwind fashion when Krishna gave them the lead in the fourth minute. Tamil Nadu boy Sivasakthi Narayanan provided a fantastic cross from the right and Krishna headed the ball past the CFC keeper into the net. Chennaiyin didn’t lose heart after conceding an early goal and the likes of skipper Anirudh Thapa, Prasanth Karuthadathkun, Ajith Kumar, Jiteshwor Singh, Rahim Ali, Narayan Das, Duker and Sliskovic kept the BFC defence busy throughout the first half. After coming close a couple of times, CFC equalized at the fag end of the first half when Prashanth latched on to a great through ball by Sliskovic and found the net with a grounder.

BFC, though, had chances to double the lead before that. In the 32nd minute Krishna fell down inside the box following a challenge by Senegalese defender Fallou Diagne, but the referee didn’t give a penalty, much to the chagrin of the BFC players. Chennaiyin, too, were unlucky when Sliskovic’s shot hit the post and came back into play in the 25th minute. Twelve minutes later, the Bosnia and Herzegovina forward rose up to meet a Jiteshwor Singh cross inside the box, but his header was saved by BFC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh. The India keeper stood like a rock and played a key role in BFC taking a point from this difficult game.