ISL:Bengaluru FC sail past Jamshedpur FC 2-0

Bengaluru FC dealt a serious blow to Jamshedpur FC's hopes of securing a playoff spot in the Indian Super League (ISL) with a comfortable 2-0 away victory at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar last evening.

The loss for Jamshedpur FC means the fate of the debutants as well as FC Goa will now go all the way to the last game of the league to be played on March 4.

However, even that may not be enough for Jamshedpur FC to cling on to the fourth place as Goa has one extra game in hand.

For Steve Coppell's men, it didn't start off well for them.Miku gave visitors the lead 23 minutes into the game from the spot.

After being put through on goal, the Spanish striker, who has been in top form this season was brought down inside the box by Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper Subrata Paul. He dusted himself and calmly slotted the ball past Paul.

Stung by the goal, Jamshedpur FC who needed to win the game tried to be a bit more ambitions but they were pegged back again barely ten minutes later. Domimas Delgado's corner from the right found Bengaluru captain Sunil Chettri who leapt over everyone to head the ball past Paul for the second time on the night.

Izu Azuka came close to reduce the deficit for the home side in the 40th minute but his effort was tipped over the bar by Bengaluru FC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh.

After the restart, the home side again came close to scoring a goal but they were again denied by a fantastic double save by Gurpreet Singh. First Singh got down well to keep out Andre Bikey's low effort and then he got up quickly to deny Jerry Mawihmingthangan from the rebound.

Even though Bengaluru FC dominated the possession, Jamshedpur FC had more efforts on goal. Coppell's men had 21 shots at goal but it just wasn't their night. On the other end, Bengaluru could have further increased their lead had they been more clinical in front of the goal.

But that didn't matter in the end, and any chances of a dramatic comeback for Jamshedpur FC were wiped off when Mehtab Hossain, who had come on as a substitute for Anas Edathodika in the second half, was sent off for a second yellow card offense in added time.

With the win, Bengaluru have now extended their lead at the top of the points table. They now have 37 points from 17 matches, an eight-point lead over second placed FC Pune City.

Jamshedpur, on the other hand, are at the fourth spot with 26 points from 17 matches.

While Bengaluru will now lock horns with Kerala Blasters, Jamshedpur FC will take on FC Goa in their next ISL clash.