Kolkata, Sep 11 (Representative) A Roy Krishna salvo in the final added minute in extra-time saw Bengaluru FC win 2-1 over Odisha FC and sail into the semi-final of the Durand Cup at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan here on Saturday. Substitute Sivasakthi Narayanan gave the Blues a 1-0 lead in extra-time before Diego Mauricio pulled level with seven minutes left to play. And just as the game looked headed to penalties, Krishna pulled Bengaluru over the line with a fantastic strike from distance. Both sides went into the break after an unproductive first-half.
The second period, saw Bengaluru push forward and they almost found the back of the net when Javi’s free-kick was headed by Jhingan, but it flew off target. Leon’s threat down the flank created the Blues’ next chance, with the winger winning a free-kick down the flank. Javi’s take found Jovanovic, but the Australian’s header flew inches wide of the frame. Odisha were reduced to ten men with ten minutes to play when Shubham Sarangi’s foul on Leon prompted the referee to brandish a second yellow card. Bengaluru pushed forward in search of a winner, but the whistle blew to signal the end of regulation time.
Sivasakthi Narayanan, finding himself at the end of Ralte’s save, slotted home from close range to make it 1-0. Bengaluru almost found the net once again on the other side when Leon closed down Ralte’s attempted clearance to make the block. The ’keeper found himself wrong-footed, but the ball trickled wide of the frame. Against the run of play, Odisha found the equalizer through Mauricio, who nodded home a free-kick from Sahil Panwar to make it 1-1. Bengaluru continued to push forward and saw chances from Javi and Leon go begging before Krishna found the net in what was the final action of the game. Picking up the ball with seconds left to play, Krishna unleashed a strike from over 25 yards that flew into the top corner past a hapless Ralte in the Odisha goal.