Bengaluru: Striker C K Vineeth struck a second-half goal as Bengaluru Football Club beat new entrant Aizawl FC by a solitary goal in an I-League match on Sunday.
With this win, Bengaluru jumped to second spot with 18 points with six wins out of nine matches.
On the other hand, this was Aizawl's fifth loss in their debut season and they are now at seventh spot in the nine-team league table with nine points.
Vineeth stepped up his attacking game by making dangerous forays into the rival's danger zone as he leapt to head the ball into the net after Keegan Pereira swirled in a beautiful freekick, scoring the only goal of the match in the 49th minute at Sree Kanteerva Stadium.
That was Vineeth's fourth goal of the season in the League, his fifth in all competitions.
Vineeth missed a chance in the 55th minute as his volley sailed over the bar. In the 67th minute, his header missed the target again after Rino Anto had lobbed the ball high for the striker.
Aizawl had a golden opportunity to score an equaliser in the 88th minute as Bengaluru goalkeeper Amrinder Singh executed a wonderful save as he stopped a point blank range shot by striker Alfred Jaryan.
There was a moment of nervousness for the hosts in the 78th minute as two Aizawl players went through on the goal but defender Curtis Osano blocked their attempts twice.
In last 10 minutes of the match, Bengaluru dropped anchor in protecting the lead with their key strikers including Johson throwing themselves in the defence.
Unfortunately, Bengaluru lost their captain Sunil Chhetri after he suffered a cramp in his left leg and Daniel Lalhlimpuia took the field for his first I-League appearance in the 59th minute.
Both sides played attacking game in the first half and early on Bengaluru used their right flank to make things uncomfortable for Aizawl.
In the 18th minute, Bengaluru wasted a chance as Malsawmzuala's shot misfired and sailed over the crossbar.
In next couple of minutes, the visitors showed a glimpse of their attacking play when Lalmuankim took a swipe at Bengaluru's goalpost, but it sailed off target.
In the 24th minute, Bengaluru's John Johnson lobbed one over the defence for Chhetri but Aizawl defender Ricky Lallawmawma did well to recover and head it back to goalkepeer Zothanmawia.
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