Bangalore: Bengaluru FC (BFC) thrashed North Korean side, April 25 3-0 in their home leg of the AFC Cup Inter-Zone semifinal here, Wednesday. BFC will visit Pyongyang, September 13 for the second leg.
India striker Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh and Lenny Rodrigues were on target to help BFC register an emphatic win in the rain-interrupted match in front of the cheering home crowd at Sree Kanteerava Stadium.
Heavy rains lashed the stadium an hour into the game and both the teams played under reduced visibility. It was Chhetri who broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute from the spot after Udanta was brought down by the North Korean goalkeeper Ri Kang inside the area.
The Bangalore outfit doubled their lead on 58 minutes when Udanta demonstrated a superb left-footed finish that ended inside the back of the visitors’ net, after sprinting from the vacant right flank into the box.
Rodrigues completed the thrashing with a 78th-minute strike. He sent the ball past Kang who was blinded by the splash of water on his face. Chhetri broke away and ran almost 50 yards to cut in and deliver the cross from the left to Lenny who made no mistake in converting it.
The best chance for April 25 came in the 23rd minute as Ri Hyong Jin sent an accurate free-kick which An Song Il met with a powerful header. However, the ball hit the crossbar and rebounded back into play. Till then the hosts had not scored and hence had the visitors taken the lead, there could have been a different story to tell.
press trust of india
