Internet Desk: Big Aussie Erik Paartalu grabbed two first-half goals (24’ 45’) while Lenny Rodrigues (57’) and Miku (87’) netted in the second half to hand Bengaluru FC a massive 4-1 win over Delhi Dynamos, at the Kanteerava Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
The second successive win at the Fortress took the Blues’ tally to six points after Round-2 as they assume sole leadership at the top of the Indian Super League standings.
The Blues, who began with an unchanged squad, brought the game to life in just the 2nd minute when Miku saw his header from an Edu Garcia cross bounce off the post before Albino Gomes clung on to the rebound.
It was one-way traffic right from the onset and Delhi’s resistance and luck ran out in the 24th minute when the Blues pulled a trick out of the training ground manual. Mulling over a free kick 35 yards out, Garcia picked Harmanjot Khabra on the right whose header in the box was met by one from Paartalu that flew beyond Gomes as the Fortress erupted.
The Blues earned a corner in the third minute of added time in the first half and the big Australian rose to flick Garcia’s take beyond Gomes as the Blues’ coaching staff got to into a huddle to celebrate the success of yet another consistently practiced set-piece routine.
Stitching a swift move from their own half, Miku, on the left, brought a long ball down perfectly for Chhetri who whipped across an inch-perfect ball that Udanta brought down on the right before firing at Gomes. The ’keeper managed to keep the shot out only for Rodrigues to slam home on the follow through to make it 3-0.
Into the 86th minute, Delhi Dynamos managed to pull one back from the penalty spot and make it 3-1. Skipper Kalu Uche slotted home after defender John Johnson was penalised for a handball on Seityasen Singh’s cross in from the left.
However, the Blues restored their three goal cushion immediately as Miku finally got his first goal in a Bengaluru FC shirt a minute later. The striker beat challenges from a couple of defenders inside the box before calmly firing home leaving Gomes shell-shocked in the Delhi goal and sealing the 4-1 win.
The Blues will now be in action away from home for three consecutive games, beginning with FC Goa on November 30.