Bengaluru FC go down to Shabab Al Ahli

Bengaluru FC suffered a 1-5 thrashing at the hands of UAE Pro-League side Shabab Al Ahli Dubai FC in their second game of the 2018 Spain Tour at the Meliá Villaitana Football Center here.

Bengaluru began Monday evening's game on the offensive with Chencho Gyeltshen and Xisco Hernandez going agonisingly close in the opening 10 minutes, the Indian Super League outfit said in a statement on their official website on Tuesday.

Boithang Haokip had only the rival goalkeeper to beat but managed to hit it straight at him. Erik Paartalu then saw a header come off the post. Shabab finally managed to push up forcing Soram Poirei into making some decent saves before Sairuat Kima conceded a penalty at the quarter hour mark.

However, Poirei produced a brilliant save diving to his right to keep the scores level at 0-0.

But a defensive lapse just a minute later allowed an Ahli striker to beat Poirei from close and break the deadlock in the 16th minute.

Bengaluru kept pushing high before finally pulling level in the 42nd minute. Xisco who continued to impress, found Udanta Singh in space who controlled the ball well before slotting it home to make it 1-1 going into the breather.

The second half began in a disastrous fashion for Bengaluru who conceded three goals in quick succession (46th, 51st, and 54th minutes) after some defensive errors allowed Shabab Al Ahli strikers to capitalise in the final third.

Bengaluru went close to pulling a goal back in the 79th minute when Erik Paartalu tried to dink one over the goalkeeper but the ball came off the woodwork. A minute later at the other end it was Shabab who scored their fifth with a long-range strike.

In the final minutes it was Miku, playing his first game since firing Bengaluru to the Super Cup title, who created a good chance only to be denied by the rival custodian, after dribbling past a host of defenders with his trademark solo run as the game ended 1-5.

Bengaluru FC will next face Villarreal CF B in their third game on August 11.

--IANS

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