AFC Cup final: Blues fall at final hurdle

Doha: Air Force Club kept their date with history and quenched Bengaluru FC's hopes for their own,  with a 1-0 win in the AFC Cup final at the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.

Hammadi Ahmed scored the lone goal midway through the second half of a largely scrappy encounter as Air Force became the first Iraqi club to win the second-tier continental title, ending the Garden City club's attempt for the same.

Bengaluru head coach Albert Roca, in an attempt at getting the best of both worlds, went with an amalgamated system which saw his side opt for a 4-2-3-1 system to add stability and counteract the Iraqi side's rigid two-striker system and changing to a 4-3-3 during their attacking forays for added width.

Hence it was no surprise that the best chances for them in the first half came from the wide positions with Rino Anto just failing to find Sunil Chhetri in the box with a whipped cross early in the match before Alwyn George's searching cross just grazed the head of a fully stretched Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who had come steaming into the box on the half hour mark.

Meanwhile, for Air Force it was expectedly the pace and guile of Hammadi that provided the attacking impetus. An awkward bounce and miscommunication almost saw Air Force take the lead in the 22nd minute. Getting control of the ball on the wide right, Humam Tareq, who was substituted shortly after with a hamstring injury, attempted to find the net with goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte well off his line, but could only slash his effort wide, which was dealt well by Anto.

Alert Ralte
With both sides struggling to keep possession of the ball, a mix-up between Chhetri and Alvaro Rubio presented the Basim Qasim-coached side with a great chance just before the break but Ralte was alert to squash Amjed Radhi's square ball to an open Hammadi Ahmed.

The second half saw Radhi turn and fire over from inside the box and Ali Al-Saadi block Lyngdoh's driven effort in the first 10 minutes at either ends.

With Air Force targeting an off-colour Nishu Kumar on the left side of defence and needing more attacking impetus, Roca introduced Udanta Singh and Seiminlen Doungel, in place of Alwyn, with Cameron Watson dropping into the back four.

And just as BFC looked to increase the tempo, Hammadi made it goal number 16 for him in the tournament. Radhi made up for his earlier lapses with a shimmy that bamboozled three defenders, including John Johnson who had been tremendous thus far, before squaring for his strike partner to notch what turned out to be the winner, in the 70th minute.

Now chasing the game, BFC pushed more men ahead but ultimately failed to create any goal-threat of merit, falling to a narrow but devastating defeat in front of over 5000-strong Indian supporters.