Bengaluru silence Jamshedpur at Furnace, Gurpreet stands tall in crucial clash

Jamshedpur, May 9: Jamshedpur FC were left frustrated at the Furnace as the Men of Steel suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bengaluru FC, despite creating the better chances and controlling large periods of the contest.

Heading into the high stakes encounter at the top of the table with 21 points from 11 matches, Jamshedpur knew a victory would significantly strengthen their title challenge. Backed by a vocal home crowd at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, Owen Coyle’s side produced an energetic and aggressive performance but were undone by a solitary goal from Ryan Williams late in the first half.

Owen Coyle retained the same starting XI that earned an impressive result against FC Goa, while Stephen Eze returned to the matchday squad after serving his suspension and was named on the bench.

Jamshedpur FC started brightly and looked dangerous from the opening exchanges. In the fourth minute, Sanan Mohammed burst down the right flank and delivered a threatening cross that was cleared by the Bengaluru defence. Jamshedpur continued to probe the Bengaluru defence, and in the 15th minute Madih Talal drove forward before slipping a fine pass to Messi Bouli, whose powerful strike was punched away by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

The pressure intensified midway through the first half when Pratik Chaudhari turned Nikola’s  free-kick into the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Nikola then tested Gurpreet with a well-struck free-kick deep into first-half stoppage time after Messi Bouli was fouled in a dangerous position, but the Bengaluru goalkeeper once again came to his side’s rescue.

Against the run of play, Bengaluru FC took the lead in the 38th minute when Ryan Williams found the net to put the visitors ahead.

Jamshedpur FC emerged for the second half with renewed intent and nearly found an immediate response. Just four minutes after the restart, a slick interchange between Madih Talal and Messi Bouli sent the Cameroonian through on goal, but Gurpreet produced another crucial save.

Stephen Eze was introduced in the 53rd minute in place of Lazar Cirkovic, and Jamshedpur continued to press forward relentlessly. Sanan, Madih Talal and Messi Bouli combined effectively as Jamshedpur attacked in waves. Madih delivered a teasing cross in the 60th minute for which Sarthak, Eze and Messi Bouli rose but missed.

Just after that Nikola’s low-driven effort from outside the box flashed inches past the post three minutes later. The best chance of the closing stages fell to Messi Bouli in the 89th minute when he broke through with only Gurpreet to beat, but he was unable to keep his effort under control. Seven minutes of added time provided further hope, but Bengaluru held firm to secure all three points.