Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC defeated DPR Korea champions April 25 SC 3-0 in the first leg of the AFC Cup knock-out round game that took place at Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Wednesday.
The match saw the names of three Indian players on the score sheet as skipper Sunil Chhetri, Udanta Singh and Lenny Rodrigues ensured a first leg advantage for the home side.
Speaking after the game, Blues' coach Albert Roca expressed his satisfaction at the positive outcome in difficult weather conditions. The visiting team in particular, found it difficult to pass the ball around in heavy rain.
"The result is very good" Roca said. "I mean I think it was a tough game. They are a really good team. They showed it in the first half. My team didn’t play very good but were intelligent in the right moments."
"We have read well the situation. It was a very tough opponent. I am sure in Korea, we would suffer a lot. They showed a lot of skills to put us in trouble." conceded the winning coach.
Sunil Chhetri lead from the front and broke the deadlock on the day as he successfully executed a 'Panenka' when given the opportunity from 12 yards out after Udanta Singh was fouled inside the box. His coach refused to single out his goal and instead spoke of the importance of scoring more than once in a tight game.
"I think the three goals were so important. First it gave us the confidence to keep working on this. We changed the structure of the game. From there we understood what we need to do. Happy for that."
Midfielder Lenny Rodrigues, who scored the game's third and final goal seemed to be suffering from an issue with his knee but Roca hopes to get a clean bill of health before their next game.
"[Lenny Rodrigues] had problems with knee. The conditions were not good. I hope it will not be a serious injury. Sounds good. Just to check tomorrow what is the status" confirmed Albert Roca.
Bengaluru FC will now look forward to the second leg of the tie which is scheduled to take place on September 13.
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