After going down two goals initially, Odisha FC knitted a remarkable comeback victory against 10-man Bengaluru FC in a five-goal thriller at the Kalinga Stadium on October 31.
While Lalthathanga Khawlhring’s stunning strike started the Juggernaut’s fightback, Isak Ralte bagged the equalizer right before the half-time break. Amey Ranawade secured three points for Odisha FC with his first goal in the Indian Super League (ISL).
For Bengaluru, the red card to Naorem Roshan Singh ultimately left them fragile to the charge from the hosts.
With both teams coming off an underwhelming start to the season and hovering in the lower half of the points table, tonight’s match had all the ingredients for a feisty encounter.
Ryan Williams returned to the starting lineup for the Blues, while Harsh Patre was given a start in the middle of the park. For the Juggernauts, Roy Krishna replaced Diego Mauricio as the head of the attack line.
Right from the first whistle, the visitors looked on the front foot and Sunil Chhetri had an early pop at the cherry in the fifth minute itself. However, Amrinder Singh gobbled it up with ease.
However, three minutes later, the BFC skipper found himself at the end of another gilt-edged opportunity when he was quickest to react inside the opposition box. Chhetri latched on to the ball while Puitea was still sorting his feet inside the box and hammered it into the bottom left corner.
More misery awaited the Kalinga Warriors on their home turf as a delicious lobbed pass from Kaziah Veendorp found Williams through on goal. Although the Australian forward had two markers on him, Williams’ exquisite first touch was enough to outwit the Odisha defenders. In the follow-up, the Bengaluru attacker volleyed it into the top corner with utmost panache.
Now 2-0 ahead, Simon Grayson’s men were cruising through and the Juggernauts seemingly lacked the heart to knit together a response of sorts.
Sergio Lobera could only hope for a miracle and it did arrive. In the 21st minute, Puitea unleashed an absolute world-class strike from outside the box and the ball whizzed past an outstretched Gurpreet Singh Sandhu into the top corner.
The spectacular strike had sliced BFC’s lead in half and more importantly, breathed life into the home supporters.
It was Odisha from there on and the away side was left helpless. The equalizer took a bit of coming but right before the half-time whistle, Isak Ralte scrambled the ball into the BFC net after a prolonged melee inside their box.
Despite the brilliant start to the match, the Blues were now going into the break with nothing to show for it.
Naorem Roshan Singh’s red card handicaps Bengaluru FC in the second half against Odisha FC
The screamer from Puitea visibly altered the momentum in the first half and the late equalizer sent Odisha back into the dressing room as the happier of the two teams. Lobera opted for an early change in the second half with Pranjal Bhumij replacing Jerry Mawihmingthanga.
Meanwhile, in the 52nd minute, Bengaluru were faced with a massive blow when Roshan Singh was shown a second yellow for a slight tuck on Puitea’s shirt. The visitors had to react to their one-man disadvantage and brought on two substitutions. Rohit Kumar and Shankar Sampingiraj came on for Harsh Patre and Halicharan Narzary.
For Odisha, the red card provided a visible opportunity to complete the comeback and walk back with all three points at home. Unsurprisingly, the Juggernauts didn’t need much invitation as Cy Goddard sent Amey Ranawade through on goal down the right flank at the hour mark.
The full-back maintained his composure and managed to squeeze the ball past Gurpreet into the far post from an acute angle.
Ranawade’s maiden goal had put the Kalinga Warriors in the driver’s seat with the lead in their grabs for the first time in the match. Already trailing, Simon Grayson decided to take one of his defenders off for another attacking option.
Curtis Main was brought on in place of Aleksander Jovanovic. But Odisha were still dictating the proceedings as Puitea had another long-rage effort, but this time was denied by the crossbar.
Except for a composed save from a Curtis Main strike, Odisha didn’t have plenty to worry about until the whistle. The composure while managing the game paid off as Sergio Lobera’s side ultimately bagged the full three points and jumped to sixth in the points table.
