Vinith Venkatesh's solitary goal in ISL debut helps Bengaluru FC edge past East Bengal

It was a fairytale ISL debut for Bengaluru FC academy graduate Venkatesh. He showed glimpses of his brilliance in the recently concluded Durand Cup and carried that momentum into the new ISL season.

Bengaluru: Football is never short of compelling storylines which warm the heart. Another such tale unfolded at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday as Bengaluru FC got their Indian Super League campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 win against East Bengal.

Local talent Vinith Venkatesh, in his first ISL appearance, scored the decisive goal in the 25th minute. Naorem Roshan Singh’s cross bubbled off Sunil Chhetri and was collected by Edgar Mendes, who played Vinith in. The 19-year-old expertly placed the ball into the bottom left corner past ‘keeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.

Vinith wheeled away in celebration and Chhetri, who made his national team debut the year Vinith was born, broke into a sprint and embraced the Bengaluru lad passionately.

The contest got off to a high-octane start with brazen challenges flying in from all areas of the pitch. Spaces in midfield were at a premium, and the hosts, enabled by Suresh Singh Wangjam and Pedro Capo, did well in dictating proceedings.

Three East Bengal players were booked in a frantic first period. Bengaluru FC prized out early openings, but East Bengal registered the first shot on target when Jeakson Singh tested Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s reflexes with a long-range piledriver.

BFC head coach Gerard Zaragoza handed starts to Capo, Rahul Bheke, Mendes and Alberto Noguera, and the new signings duly impressed on their full league debuts.

The Blues remained defensively sound throughout the contest. Nikhil Poojary stuck close to the dangerous Naorem Mahesh Singh. Bheke, who impressed with his distribution, and Aleksandar Jovanovic closely monitored Dimitrios Diamantakos. Roshan kept tabs on Mohammed Rakip and Nandha Kumar Sekar.

Former BFC player Cleiton Silva came close to equalising in the 85th minute when he swung his boot at a flick-on from a long throw-in, but his effort sailed over the post. Two minutes later, EBFC’s Lalchungnunga was sent off for a second booking, effectively extinguishing any hopes of a comeback.

The triple substitution of Chinglensana Singh, Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Ryan Williams coming on for Jovanovic, Mendes and Chhetri worked a treat as Bengaluru FC found fresh impetus in the final third and renewed solidity at the back to seal victory.

Result: Bengaluru FC: 1 (Vinith Venkatesh 25th) bt East Bengal: 0.