Bengaluru FC edged ATK 1-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to pick up a slender advantage in the two-legged Indian Super League (ISL) playoff tie.
Deshorn Brown (31') scored off a mistake from Arindam Bhattacharya and the Blues held on to the narrow lead to emerge 1-0 winners in the home leg.
A surprise team-sheet saw Bengaluru start without any wingers. Carles Cuadrat dropped Udanta Singh and Ashique Kuruniyan to accommodate a five-man midfield behind the strike-force of Sunil Chhetri and Deshorn Brown.
Ths visitors started in their traditional 3-5-2, with David Williams and Roy Krishna leading the line and Edu Garcia supplying from behind.
The game got off to a balanced start with both sides cancelling each other out and preventing the opposition from creating any threatening chances.
The first big moment of the game arrived in the 17th minute after Williams found the back of the net after receiving a pass from Krishna. But the assistant referee deemed that the Australian striker handled the ball in the process and hence ruled out the goal.
Brown broke the deadlock in the 31st minute, capitalising on a mistake from ATK custodian Arindam. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu found Chhetri with a looping ball over the top of the ATK defence. The Bengaluru skipper headed it to Erik Paartalu who set up Juanan for a shot. Arindam got down to make the save for the eventual shot but he was unable to hold it to himself. Brown got to the loose ball and tapped it in to make it 1-0.
The visitors reacted by showing more conviction in their attack. They stringed an array of attacks in the final 10 minutes of the first half but the Bengaluru defence stood tall to preserve the lead.
The second half was a case of ATK’s attack against Bengaluru’s defence. The visitors enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but were denied clear-cut chances by Bengaluru’s resilient defence led by Juanan Gonzalez.
Youngster Suresh Wangjam did well to neutralise Michael Soosairaj on the left, limiting the attacks from ATK’s favoured side.
Despite seeing less of the ball, the hosts came closest to scoring in the second half. Kevaughn Frater’s sniper-shot from distance demanded the best from Arindam and he delivered.
ATK created several half-chances in the closing moments of the game but Bengaluru’s back-line stood tall to keep the well-deserved clean sheet.
