Sunil Chhetri helps Bengaluru FC win title
Chhetri rose above Lalram Chullova in the East Bengal defence to head in.
New Delhi: Bengaluru FC bounced back from a goal down to beat 10-man East Bengal 4-1 in the inaugural Hero Super Cup final in Bhubaneswar on Friday. A brace from captain Sunil Chhetri and one each from Rahul Bheke and Nicolas Fedor (Miku) ensured that East Bengal’s early lead from a Kromah goal would not stop their march to victory.
In the 28th minute, East Bengal took the lead when off their fourth corner fisted away by Gurpreet Sandhu, Kromah pulled off a lobbed back volley that went in despite Erik Partalau’s desperate attempt to keep it out.
BFC equalised in the 39th minute when Bheke headed in a corner. Minutes before the interval, East Bengal were reduced to 10-men when Samad Ali Mallick was red-carded for a rough tackle on Subhashish Bose.
BFC went ahead for the first time in the 68th minute. Off a corner, Gurwinder Singh handled the ball and the referee pointed to the spot from which Chhetri gleefully converted.
Three minutes later, a Dovale-Perez combo from midfield found Miku inside the box, who sidestepped his marker and blasted in.
Deservedly, the skipper finished it off in the 90th minute, when off an Udanta cross, Chhetri rose above Lalram Chullova in the East Bengal defence to head in.