A new manager bounce in football generally comes with the slate being wiped clean, players giving their all, confidence increasing and the results picking up.
Bengaluru FC enjoyed all of these on Saturday at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Gerard Zaragoza’s first match in charge as it ran out a 1-0 victory over Jamshedpur FC for only its second win of the campaign.
Javi Hernandez’s penalty on the stroke of half-time proved the difference, as BFC swelled its points tally to 10 from 11 matches. But for a few nervy moments at the end when Jeremy Manzorro rattled the crossbar and also drew a fine save from Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, JFC didn’t have much to show.
At the outset, BFC kept possession for more minutes than they had all season, pieced together many a fine combination move and threatened the goal through a Sunil Chhetri free-kick and Suresh Wangjam drive. The latter was, in fact, ubiquitous on the pitch, giving his side some much-needed energy.
The pressure finally told when JFC’s Elsinho inadvertently handled the ball inside the penalty area. Hernandez, not Chhetri, stepped up to take the spot-kick, and like his captain, the Spaniard made no mistake.
After the break, BFC kept up the pressure, and the visitors didn’t help themselves by routinely misplacing passes. With just over 20 minutes left, Zaragoza withdrew both Chhetri and Hernandez, but the Catalan’s wards managed to see off the game and collect the all-important three points.
The result: Bengaluru FC 1 (Hernandez 44-pen) bt Jamshedpur FC 0.
