Bengaluru FC strike twice to down Bharat FC in I-League

Pune, April 24: A goal on either side of the break saw defending champions Bengaluru FC move smoothly past a sloppy Bharat FC here on Friday and join leaders Mohun Bagan at the top of the I-League table with 28 points.

Young Eugeneson Lyngdoh slammed the ball in on the run after being put through by Sean Rooney to put Bengaluru FC 1-0 ahead in the 29th minute.

Rooney was in the thick of action again when he fed Lyngdoh in the 56th minute with an accurate pass that was relayed to C.K. Vineeth who found the net for the insurance goal.

The victory, their eighth in 15 outings, took Bengaluru to the top while Bharat slipped to their sixth defeat in 14 games.

In effect, Bharat, languishing in 10th spot in the 11-team league, were hardly in the frame and struggled to keep pace with the better organised Bengaluru FC who dictated the pace and flow of the game from the start to finish.

The Bengaluru FC reveled in a lot of freedom with Bharat FC guilty of sloppy marking and it allowed the visitors to forge moves at will. 

The few occasions that Bharat slipped through an otherwise tight Bengaluru defence saw the home forwards bungling when in sight of the goal and they barely troubled the visitors.

The game also highlighted Bengaluru's enviable bench strength as coach Ashley Westwood had the luxury of starting the game without skipper Sunil Chhetri, star striker Robin Singh while he later pulled out Rooney when the game was all but sealed.

In the event, Lyngdoh and Vineeth justified Westwood's faith by notching a goal apiece before making way for Chhetri and Robin Singh.

In contrast, Bharat went in with five changes with three players sitting out a suspension and two others on the injury list. The resultant shuffling told on their performance which left a lot to be desired.