Bengaluru FC were held to a 3-3 draw by Royal Wahingdoh in a pulsating I-League game where fortunes changed hands unpredictably. Finding themselves down two times in the game, Bengaluru showed character to claw back and even take the lead that was eventually wiped out by a moment of misfortune for the Blues.

Blues manager Ashley Westwood fielded an unchanged eleven from his side’s 4-1 win over Sporting Clube de Goa earlier with week, with Shankar Sampingiraj making the bench following his return from the India U-23 squad.

Bengaluru conceded the opener against the run of play when some sloppy possession and harmless-looking mix-ups led to Beekay Bawar’s shot taking Joshua Walker’s hand in the box. Referee Pratap Singh pointed to the spot even though Walker’s hands seemed close to his chest when struck and Kim Jong’s sent his take beyond a diving Lalthuammawia Ralte.

Choosing to make little of the set-back, Bengaluru kept their heads down, looking to get back into the game. The attacks were frequent as were the corners that Wahingdoh had to defend. The Blues eventually got their reward in the 39th minute when Robin Singh made the most of a scramble in the box to tap home the equaliser.

But only a minute before halftime, Wahingdoh shot into the lead again, this time through a Godwin Franco strike who made the visitor’s spell of possession count.

Sensing the need to tweak things around if Bengaluru were to come back, Westwood threw in Shankar Sampingiraj for Thoi Singh. It was a move that would click only minutes later. Armed with a freekick, Eugeneson Lyngdoh swung his take in the box and Shankar made his leap count, placing a header beyond Prem Kumar Singh.

At 2-2, the Blues began pressing for a third with regular attacks down both wings. But it was a brilliant long ball that led to the goal. Deep in his own half and with the ball, Walker spotted Sean Rooney’s run and chipped one over that the Australian striker reached only to be felled by an onrushing Singh in the box. Walker made no mistake from the spot and Bengaluru had the lead for the first time in the game.

But just while Westwood’s men began seizing complete control of things, Reagan Singh’s shot took an unfortunate deflection off Lalchhuanmawia before looping beyond a scrambling Ralte to make it 3-3.

The draw meant both teams are now on 21 points, three adrift leaders Mohun Bagan who beat Salgaocar 3-1 in Kolkata earlier in the day.