Bengaluru FC storm into National Championship of RFDL

Bengaluru, 8 May, 2023: Bengaluru FC have qualified to the National Championship of the Reliance Foundation Developmental League (RFDL) following a gruelling 1-1 draw against their Indian Super League (ISL) counterparts Kerala Blasters at the Bangalore Football Stadium (BFS) on Monday.

Kerala and Bengaluru played out a competitive, neck-to-neck encounter. The first-half was contested intensely with either of the sides refraining from ceding an inch on the pitch. The tempo was high, their backlines were solid and the attacking units of both teams gave it their all to carve out some openings and find a way through the opposition’s defence. Bengaluru’s midfielder Damaitphang Lyngdoh finally found the breakthrough in the 44th minute and that instilled a lot of energy in the opening quarter of the second-half.

The Blasters didn’t budge though, as they looked increasingly keen to notch the equaliser and level the scores. They found solace in Muhammad Ajsal, who found the back of the net in the 59th minute in what ended up as the final goal of the match. The two teams continued their quest of the winner thereafter, but it was not to be and they had to settle with a point each from this match.

Earlier in the day, Sreenidi Deccan FC thrashed LIIFA Trivandrum 5-0 at the same venue to secure a statement victory to close out their National Group Stage campaign in style.

Midfielder Umasankar M, an U-23 player for Sreenidi, opened the scoring as early on as in the second minute of the game. Defender Muhammed Bilal helped them double the lead in the 35th minute but it was their clean and flawless act in the second-half that helped Sreenidi seal the game and stamp their authority over the same.

LIFFA provided some fightback in the second essay of the match. But, Sreenidi really upped the ante as the game approached the hour mark as Emboklang Nongkhlaw and Yash Bisht netted once each in the 58th and 59th minutes respectively to add four to their tally. Finally, Shaik Saleem came off the bench to notch the fifth goal of the morning in the 82nd minute as Sreenidi rounded off arguably their most convincing and dominant performances in the league.

Brief Scores

Kerala Blasters 1 (Muhammed Ajsal 59’) – 1 (Damaitphang Lyngdoh) Bengaluru FC

Sreenidi Deccan 5 (Umasankar 5’, Muhammad Bilal C.V 35’, Emboklang Nongkhlaw 58’, Yash Bisht 59’, Shaik Saleem 59’) – 0 LIIFA Trvandrum

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