Football
Debayan Sen 6y

BFC edge past Abahani in AFC Cup opener

For about 70 minutes at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening, a slew of Bengaluru FC (BFC) supporters had a subdued air about them during their team's opening AFC Cup group game against Dhaka Abahani.

BFC, unbeaten now for exactly 96 weeks in the continental competition at home, seemed in danger of losing that record against the spirited champions from Bangladesh, though they eventually secured a 1-0 victory. 

Abahani were positive from the outset, thanks to their coach Saiful Bari Titu's attack-minded 4-1-2-3. Seven of the eight Bangladesh players fielded have been regulars in the national setup across the last three years, and Japanese midfielder Seiya Kojima added pace to go with Nigerian striker Emeka Onuoha's strength.

All of the early running would come from Abahani, for whom right-back and captain Mamum Miah combined well with Rubel Miya to take advantage of a BFC backline low on experience. Kojima met a low cross from Mamun in the 16th minute, but failed to place it beyond Lathuammawia Ralte in goal. Ralte also had to pull off a save off Kojima from an acute angle in the 36th minute, and Emeka, who spent much of the first half evidently bothered by a hamstring problem, took a sharp glancing header in the 40th minute that just went wide of the goal.

Abahani's early success was based on a good work rate, and ensuring they spent as little time on the ball as possible. Whenever a BFC player got the ball, he would find the canary yellow of the opposition pressing him, and this elicited mistakes in midfield from the likes of Malsawmzuala and Alwyn George. The hosts had their moments, but largely failed to get strikers Daniel Lalhlimpuia and Thongkhosiem Haokip into enough situations to test Sahidul Alam in goal.

The second half began with BFC looking to be more positive, and there were some nervy moments for the Abahani defence inside the first 10 minutes itself. BFC coach Albert Roca was forced to bring on a second foreigner in striker Daniel Segovia, and he provided Lalhlimpuia with a perfect layup at the edge of the box in the 72nd minute, which was placed to perfection to calm BFC nerves.

Needing a reaction of their own, Abahani created more openings in the next few minutes, with attacking players Saad Uddin and Mohammad Jibon all coming on as replacements. They worked hard in looking for the leveller, but lacked the final ball to really trouble BFC. 

The match ended in a flurry of activity around the BFC goal, even as a light drizzle seemed to appear on cue to complement a performance that was pleasant and promising, but didn't deliver on the night.

Coach Titu and Faisal had talked the previous day about restoring a sense of pride in Bangladesh football. With two 1-0 defeats, they may not have done that quite yet, but in their spirited display against a quality team, Abahani showed a promise of things to come.

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