A Chidi Edeh brace sank Bengaluru FC’s quest of a semifinal spot in their maiden Federation Cup outing as East Bengal beat the Blues 2-0 in the last Group B fixture at a packed MDSC Stadium, in Manjeri, on Tuesday. The game also saw Sunil Chhetri and Sean Rooney miss penalties on a day that just didn’t belong to the League leaders.
Ashley Westwood’s team needed nothing but a win to progress after Sporting Clube de Goa handed Rangdajied United a 2-0 defeat that took them to six points from 3 games. The Sporting result also meant East Bengal were out and after a barren first half, Bengaluru got their chance when Chhetri was tripped in the box in the 56th minute. The skipper stepped up to shoot but his strike was guessed correctly by ’keeper Gurpreet Singh.
Chhetri’s miss from the spot would come to haunt Bengaluru only minutes later when Chidi’s harmless looking strike crept under Pawan Kumar to give East Bengal the lead in the 62nd minute. Chidi scored his second in just a little over ten minutes but this time with a rasping striker from exactly the same spot.
Bengaluru threw in Robin Singh for Beikhokhei Beingaichho as Bengaluru tried hard for a comeback that just wasn’t to be. The final proof of Bengaluru’s off day turned up in the 90th minute when, after earning a penalty, Sean Rooney blasted his attempt over.