I-League: Bengaluru FC strike thrice to rout Salgaocar

Defensive blunders by Salgaocar enabled Bengaluru FC to snatch a 3-1 win over the Goan outfit here on Sunday and move to the top of the Hero I-League table.

Last year's champions Bengaluru FC made capital of errors in the Salgaocar defence to score through Thoi Singh (26th) and Eugeneson Lyngdoh (73rd) whose opportunistic strike neutralized the Salgaocar's equalizer by Darryl Duffy (71st) before Curtis Osano gave the Blues a 3-1 lead in the 80th.

The victory, their sixth against Salgaocar in as many meetings over two seasons, took Bengaluru's tally to 35, three clear of Mohun Bagan.

Played in incessant rain, the Blues adopted to the difficult conditions far better and, more importantly, quicker than Salgaocar to dominate the proceedings, barring a brief spell in the second half when the Goans enjoyed their best moments and applied pressure which fetched them their only goal.

After equal share of exchanges in the early part of the game when rival goalkeepers were drawn into action, Thoi Singh put the Blues ahead with a thunderous volley off a poor clearance from a corner.

Bengaluru FC pressed hard thereafter, but drew blank as Salgaocar defended well as the teams headed into the break. On resumption, the visitors held the upper hand and their persistent efforts finally bore fruit through Duffy's equalizer.

Midfielder Gilbert Olivera, who had come off the bench in the second half, put Pierre Douhou in possession. The Ivorian forward sent a waist-high ball across the goalmouth and Duffy dived forward to head the ball home for one of the better goals of this year's I-League.

The equalizer, however, was quickly nullified when Salgaocar defender Augustin Fernandes lost a physical challenge to Sean Rooney who had cut in from the left.

The Aussie forward sent a cross to Vineeth whose attempt came off a defender to Lyngdoh and with goalkeeper Karanjit Singh out of position, the forward slid the ball into the net to give Bengaluru FC a 2-1 advantage.

Salgaocar never recovered from the second goal as Osano rose above the defenders and headed home a Lyngdoh corner for Bengaluru's third goal that effectively ended the Goan challenge.