BFC beat MCFC 9-8 on penalties to reach the final of ISL 2022-23 (ISL)
The tie was evenly balanced at 2–2 as a penalty shootout was required to decide the winner. After conceding 16 penalties, BFC keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved Mahtab Singh’s shot, before Sandesh Jhingan scored the winning spot-kick to give the Blues a 9–8 win in the shootout.
Bengaluru: A crucial save from India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu helped Bengaluru FC beat Mumbai City FC in the penalty shootout to enter the final of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Sandhu saved a penalty at the start of the game and at the end of the shootout Bengaluru FC won the tie-breaker after a 2–2 draw in the semi-finals following Mumbai City FC’s 2–1 result after extra time.
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Bengaluru FC beat League Shield winners Mumbai City FC 1–0 in the semi-final first leg in Mumbai on 7 March.
After taking 16 penalties, Sandhu saved Mehtab Singh’s shot before Sandesh Jhingan scored the winning spot-kick to give the Blues a 9–8 win in the shootout.
Bengaluru FC will now take on either ATK Mohun Bagan or Hyderabad FC in the ISL final on Saturday.
The home side started the game confidently but the best chance fell to Mumbai City FC inside 10 minutes. Sandhu fouled Jorge Diaz in the box to give away the penalty but when Greg Stewart stepped up to take it, he was able to hit the right track.
Midway through the first half, the Islanders were put further behind in the fixture. From the left flank, Siva Narayanan floated a cross for Javi Hernandez, who managed to head it past Phurba Lachenpa to make it 2–0 on aggregate.
That goal catapulted the Islanders into the next gear, and they came back quickly at the half-hour mark. Sandhu was called into action again as he saved Rolin Borges’ effort at the near post. However, the rebound went straight to an unmarked Bipin Singh, who side-footed the ball.
In the 66th minute, Mumbai City FC leveled the semi-final tie thanks to Mehtab’s huge header from a corner. Three minutes later, Lachampa got his fingers on a Hernandez shot as the game headed into overtime with no other substantial chances for either team.
In extra time, both the teams had chances which they did not take advantage of.
Diaz was picked out by Vikram Singh with a low cross, but he failed to keep it on target from close range. At the end of the first period, Roy Krishna’s header was kept out by Lachenpa, and Mourtada Fall almost kicked the rebound into the back of his own net, but was saved by the post.
In the second period, Pablo Perez came close to taking advantage of Lachampa’s spill before he recovered to put it away. In the end, Lachampa again saved the visitors when he kept out Alain Costa’s header as the game went to penalties and Bengaluru FC held their nerves to win.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)