BENGALURU: Former champions Bengaluru FC (BFC) carried their superb form into the first leg of the ISL semifinals at the Sree Kanteerava stadium here on Wednesday. They dominated FC Goa to land a double punch on the visitors to take a 2-0 advantage into the decider.
For Goa coach Manuel Marquez, it was his first defeat in Bengaluru. The astute tactician now faces a challenging task at home to cancel the deficit and get back into the competition in the return leg on Sunday.
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If BFC took the lead, thanks to an own goal by Sandesh Jhingan (42nd minute) in the first half, they doubled it showing teamwork.
The Blues came out after the break with their tails up and almost had a second in the 47th minute but Ryan Williams was denied as Jhingan made amends for his earlier lapse with a goalline save.
The home team continued to work their way up and this time it was Namgyal Bhutia who overlapped through the right. He sent in a pinpoint cross into the box where Edgar Mendez — moving unmarked among 3-4 Goan defenders — connected with great skill and made it 2-0 in the 51st minute.
The visitors had their chances but BFC’s second goal put them under extreme pressure to reduce the margin ahead of the return fixture.
Result (semifinals, 1st leg): Bengaluru FC 2 (Sandesh Jhingan 42'-own goal, Edgar Mendez 51') beat FC Goa 0
