MALAPPURAM, JAN 18: Rangdajied United FC held Bengaluru FC to a 1-1 draw at the MDSC stadium in Manjeri on Saturday keeping alive their chances for a semi-final berth in the ongoing 35th Federation Cup. The result means that the group remains wide open after Sporting Clube de Goa had beaten holders East Bengal in the day’s earlier game.
Coach Santosh Kashyap made no changes to the side that had held defending champions East Bengal to a goalless draw in their opening game.
Bengaluru made a dream start taking the lead in the second minute of the game. Siam Hanghal put a superb through ball for midfielder Thoi Singh, who calmly slotted the ball past Rangdajied custodian Surjay Pariyar.
Riding on from their early goal, Bengaluru created a few more chances in the first few minutes, albeit without adding to their score line. It wasn’t until the 15th minute when Rangdajied had their first major chance, with Edmar Figueira being brought down just outside the penalty box. The Brazilian forward, however, failed to get his free kick past the Bengaluru wall.
Rangdajied went close in the 35th minute, when Kim Song Yong’s header from close range forced Bengaluru goalkeeper Pawan Kumar to make an acrobatic save. The blues, however, couldn’t create any more significant chance in the first half, with the teams heading into the breather with Bengaluru leading by a solitary goal.
The second half started at a very slow pace, with both sides trying to keep more possession of the ball. Despite creating quite a few set-pieces, neither Rangdajied nor Bengaluru FC failed to trouble each other’s goalkeeper during the first few minutes.
With the game heading for a Bengaluru FC win, Rangdajied United piled up the pressure in the last quarter hour of the game. In the 80th minute, the blues earned a free-kick in a promising area of the Bengaluru half.
Centre-back Lamine Tamba, who had stepped forward for the free-kick, headed the ball brilliantly into the back of the net to level up the scores, leaving the Bengaluru players stunned. The goal lifted the blues; and three minutes later, had another free-kick in a good position. Edmar, however, put his shot wide, as the scores remained at 1-1.
Both Bengaluru FC and Rangdajied United had a free-kick apiece in the last few stages of the game, but there were to be no more goals in the game. The game ended at the score 1-1, with Bengaluru remaining at the top of the group with 4 points.
The draw keeps Rangdajied United still in the hunt for a semi-final spot, with 2 points from 2 games, but will have to win the last game against Sporting Clube, and hope for a slip-up from Bengaluru FC in their game, in order to progress.- By Our Reporter
All the best next match RuFc