Bengaluru FC beat ATK Mohun Bagan (IANS)
ATK’s Thhamsol Tongsin missed a decisive seventh kick in the shootout, giving the Blues an emphatic victory, as the game had to be decided on penalties after a 1–1 score line at full-time.
Bengaluru FC defeated ATK Mohun Bagan in a thrilling penalty shootout to storm into the final of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) National Championship as the game was tied 1-1 in regulation time at the Reliance Corporate Park (RCP) on Thursday.
Thamsol Tongsin missed the decisive kick in the seventh down to give the Blues an emphatic win. Bengaluru FC’s Huidrom Thoi Singh struck in the 61st minute to help the Blues move ahead in the contest and break the deadlock after an hour of tough end-to-end football.
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Thoi came into the tournament on the back of an impressive first-half hat-trick which he scored in the national group stage faceoff against FC Goa in Bangalore. He displayed some incredible footwork after collecting the ball near the halfway mark and beat a couple of ATKMB players before a venomous strike that found the back of the net from just outside the box to help Bangalore seal the encounter .
However, ATKMB managed to collect themselves in the last 10 minutes and started to create some pressure with some impressive passing moves. Minutes before the half-time whistle he earned a free-kick near the touchline and forward Ningombam Angson Singh struck a powerful strike on the deflected free-kick and found the equalizer to push the game into penalties.
Both the teams went strong for a crucial period in the shootout but ATKMB eventually prevailed thanks to a great save by Bengaluru goalkeeper and captain Sheron.
“Football always brings us new training sessions, new experiences and new games. In two days, we have the third-place playoff, which we want to win. Then there’s the Next Gen Cup. So, there’s always a next opportunity, a Next test,” said ATKMB coach Josep Maria Roma Gibert as he reflected on his team’s defeat after a highly competitive clash.
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“No time for regrets. No time for crying. Will cry a little now for change. Tomorrow is a training session and then we move on to the third place game. This is football. This is life,” he said.
On the other hand, Bengaluru FC coach Kaizad Ambapardiwala was all praise for Thoi Singh, who won the player of the match award in this match.
“Thoi has developed really well because he’s been starting and playing games consistently. Also his style of play has improved. If you look at tonight’s goal as well, technique-wise, So his overall performance level has gone up,” Ambapardiwala said.