FC Bengaluru United beat Kodagu 4-0, record straight fifth win in BDFA Super Division

FCBU Media 

In a strong showing of attacking prowess against a spirited opponent’s defence, FC Bengaluru United beat Kodagu FC 4-0 in the ongoing BDFA Super Division Championship 2021-22 at the Bangalore Football stadium. Ronaldo Oliviera (38), James Singh (53), Luka Majcen (65), and Bedashwar Singh (68) were the goal scorers for the defending champions. A record fifth win in as many games played in the league. 

Majcen was seen attacking for the home team, creating a couple of strong half chances. The deadlock was broken in the 38th minute – Ronaldo’s first shot on goal was parried away by the Kodagu keeper; Ronaldo though was quick to make the most of the rebound. FCBU went into half-time, clearly with the upper hand. Kodagu, while strong in defence, failed to mount any strong attack, with Kinshuk Debnath holding the FCBU defence together.

FCBU came out looking to attack even more strongly in the second half. In the 53rd minute, James made the most of a strong Aenam G Jurwa run into the box after a free kick to get FCBU 2-0 up. Majcen, who had been on top of his game for most of the match thus far, finally managed to convert a chance in the 65th minute – making the most of a deflection off the Kodagu goalkeeper and adroitly avoiding two Kodagu defenders to score into the open net. Three minutes later, Kynsailang Khongsit took a shot on goal off a Ronaldo cross that deflected and landed neatly in front of an open net for Bedashwor Singh to get FCBU 4-0 up.

In the 84th minute Kodagu were awarded a penalty, but the chance was saved by the diving FCBU goalkeeper Kunzang Bhutia. 

 

Karnataka through to Santosh Trophy final round

Karnataka scored a convincing 2-0 victory over Telangana to finish with an all-win record and sail into the final round of the 75th Santosh Trophy football championship. In another game in the morning of this group, Tamil Nadu scored a 1-0 win over Andhra Pradesh. 

It was a virtual final between Karnataka and Telangana as both sides had a chance to qualify, though Karnataka only needed a draw. Karnataka scored early in the 10th minute - a marauding run by Vignesh Gunashekar that was illegally halted by two Telengana defenders just inside the box, and referee Mithun Kundu pointed to the spot.

Midfielder Solamalai scored and the hosts were 1-0 up. Telangana fought bravely though Karnataka enjoyed a better share of the exchanges. It took them 74 minutes to get their second goal. Bavu Nishad put home a rebound to help hosts Karnataka finished with 9 points from three games.

Tamil Nadu finish second in the four team group with 6 points. 

Result

• Tamil Nadu 1 (Senthamizhi-39') Vs Andhra Pradesh 0
• Karnataka 2 (Solaimalai N-10'[P], Bavu Nishad TP-74') Vs Telngana 0

Santosh Trophy South Zone qualifiers set for a humdinger when Karnataka play Telangana tomorrow

Apparently, Saturday’s final day’s action in the Hero Santosh Trophy South Zone Group A qualifiers is all set to end on a thrilling note.

At 11.30 am, Tamil Nadu (3 points) clash with Andhra Pradesh (0 Pts) and if the former wins, then they will end up with 6 points. However, Andhra, who yielded a 90th minute goal to Karnataka on Thursday, would like to finish on a winning note, thus promising a keen contest.

The much-awaited final game is between hosts Karnataka (6 points) and Telangana (3 points). The hosts just need a draw to advance to the next round. But Telangana will be looking to scalp Karnataka and join the race.

Any three of the four teams are in with a chance to book the sole berth from this group and it all points to an exciting final day’s action though the team In the driver’s seat are hosts Karnataka.

 

Karnataka eke out a 1-0 win over Andhra Pradesh, move closer to qualifying

Hosts Karnataka were stretched to the limit before they eked out a 1-0 win over Andhra Pradesh in the Group A of Hero Santosh Trophy South Zone league. In another game Tamil Nadu came back from their 0-4 drubbing at the hands of the hosts to beat Telangana 1-0.

Karnataka who were rescued by an 90th minute strike by Kamalesh P kept an unbeaten record with six points from two games. Andhra adopted defensive tactics thus putting the brakes on the flow by the strong Karnataka side and almost pulled it off. However, with just a minute to go Kamalesh scored and ended the fight by the AP side, who now have lost both their matches and are out of contention.

In today’s second game, TN enjoyed the better of exchanges while Telangana were hardly the side that won their opener 4-0 against AP. 

After two efforts came to grief on the post in the first half, TN skipper Vijay Nagappan finally broke the deadlock two minutes after restart. Vijay’s free kick sailed over the wall and went in off the near post beating Telangana custodian Hussain hands down.

With one team qualifying for the final round, Karnataka remain the only unbeaten side and a draw will see them through. Karnataka meet Telangana in the final game on Saturday afternoon and a win for the latter will bring them back into contention.

If TN win against AP in Saturday’s first game and Karnataka lose in the afternoon, then it will be a three-way tie and goal difference and head to head results come into play.

• Karnataka 1 (Kamalesh P-90’) Vs Andhra Pradesh 0  
• Tamil Nadu 1 (Vijay Nagappan48’) Vs Telangana 0 

Last round - Sat, 27-11-2021

• 11.30 AM: Andhra Pradesh Vs Tamil Nadu
• 3.30 PM – Karnataka Vs Telangana

Karnataka start 26th Women’s National campaign on Nov 29

Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA) announced the team for the 26th Hero Senior Women’s National Football Championship 2021-22 to be held in Calicut, Kerala, from 28th Nov to 9th Dec 2021. Tanvi Hans will lead the 20 members team.

Karnataka is placed in Group D along with Jharkhand, Goa & Delhi. They play their first match on 29th Nov 2021 against Jharkhand, second match on 1st Dec 2021 against Delhi, and the third match on 3rd Dec 2021 against Goa.

Team: Tanvie Hans (Captain), Crystal Ann Pinto, Aiswarya A, Aishwarya M, Iniya Selvakumari S, N Jakiya Afrine, Judith Sonali John, Samundeeshwari, Tara Anand, Diana Zairemsiami, Mayanglambam Joshima Devi, Kavya P, Sankriti Gurappa, Shilpa H, Kshetrimayum Margaret Devi, Mithila Ramani, M Priyadarshini, Anju, Purnima Rao, Rubavathy D

Officials: Thomas J (Coach), Shanthi S (Asst. Coach), Anjali Chincholkar (Physio), Mamatha R (Manager) 

Karnataka take on Andhra in Santosh Trophy qualifiers tomorrow

Thursday will see two interesting encounters as Karnataka and Telangana will look to extend their winning run. Both scored identical 4-0 victories on Tuesday and on Thursday, Karnataka meet Andhra while Telangana take on Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka, who did impress in the opener still have to get their midfield players to string together an effective combination.

Andhra are a young squad while the hosts carry more experience and they meet in the first game at 11.30 am.

Telangana scored some late goals against Andhra and will take Tamil Nadu in the second game at 3.30 pm.

Tamil Nadu did pose a few problems to Karnataka and the 0-4 margin does not reflect their true strength.

Telangana have a task on hand but a win will set up a mouth-watering finale on Saturday against hosts Karnataka.

A win for TN against Telangana May make it easier for the hosts provided they make no mistake against Andhra.

• Thursday, Nov 25, 11.30 AM: Andhra Pradesh Vs Karnataka
• Thursday, Nov 25, 3.30 PM: Tamil Nadu Vs Telangana

 

Sudheer hat-trick floors Tamil Nadu

Hosts Karnataka stamped their authority by knocking down Tamil Nadu 4-0 in the inaugural game of the Santosh Trophy South Zone qualifiers played at the Bangalore Football Stadium earlier today. 

Karnataka went ahead early in the game, Kamalesh opened the goal account in the 11th minute of the game while Sudheer Kotikela, who has been in prime form for past few seasons in the local BDFA league scored a hattrick. 

Karnataka will take on Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, November 25. The later lost the second game of the day to an identical margin to Telengana. 

Today's Result 

• Karnataka 4 (Kamalesh P-11', Sudheer Kotikela-42', 53', 75') Vs Tamil Nadu 0
• Telangana 4 (Yousuf Ali-16’, Mohammed Imaduddin-71’, 90’+3’, P Joshua-87’) Vs Andhra Pradesh 0 

Next Gameday

• November 25, 11.30 AM: Andhra Pradesh Vs Karnataka 
• November 25, 3.30 PM: TamilNadu Vs Telangana

Sunil to lead the state in 75th Santosh Trophy zonals

Sunil Kumar of Kickstart FC will lead the Karnataka State in the zonal round of 75th Santosh Trophy. Karnataka will start their campaign on Monday, November 23 at the Bangalore Football Stadium. 

A very popular name in Bangalore Football, Sunil has been the deputy to Vignesh Gunashekar in the last few editions of Santosh Trophy. 

Read: Bangalore to host 75th Hero Santosh Trophy South Zone round   

Squad: M Sunil Kumar (Captain), Jayanth Krishnamurthy, Srijith R, Kevin Koshy, Siju S, Robin Yadav, G John Peter, Harpreet Singh, Pavan S, Edwin Rosario, Vignesh Gunashekar, Solaimalai N, Kamalesh P, Crispin C Cleetus, Aditya Mohan, Shelton Paul M, Sudheer Kotikela, Magesh Selva, Ankith P, Mohammed Riyas PT, Bavu Nishad TP, Jagdeep Singh

Biby Thomas (Coach), J L Andrew (Asst Coach), S M Balu (Manager), Shehin Muhammed KV (Physio) 

    

Bangalore to host 75th Hero Santosh Trophy South Zone round

The 75th edition of the Hero Santosh Trophy National Football Championship is just around the corner, as the states from across various parts of the country prepare for their respective zonal groups. 

The teams from across India have been divided into groups across five zones – North Zone, West Zone, South Zone, East Zone, and the North-East Zone. Bengaluru will be hosting the South zone round. All matches will be played at the Bangalore Football Stadium. 

Bengaluru will host South Zone Group ‘A’ of the 75th Hero Santosh Trophy National Football Championship South Zone Qualifiers from November 23-27, 2021 at Bangalore Football Stadium.

Participating teams include hosts Karnataka, semifinalist in the last two editions, have been grouped with Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana All four teams will play the event in a Covid Bio Bubble.

Schedule:

• 23rd Nov, 2021, 11:30 AM: Karnataka 4 (Kamalesh P-11', Sudheer Kotikela-42', 53', 75') Vs Tamil Nadu 0
• 23rd Nov, 2021, 3:30 PM: Telangana 4 (Yousuf Ali-16’, Mohammed Imaduddin-71’, 90’+3’, P Joshua-87’) Vs Andhra Pradesh 0
• 25th Nov, 2021, 11:30 AM: Karnataka Vs Andhra Pradesh 
• 25th Nov, 2021, 3:30 PM: Telangana Vs Tamil Nadu
• 27th Nov, 2021, 11:30 AM: Karnataka Vs Telangana  
• 27th Nov, 2021, 3:30 PM: Andhra Pradesh Vs Tamil Nadu

The team finishing at the top of their group will then progress to the Final Round of the Hero Santosh Trophy, which is set to take place in Kerala, later this year. 

FCBU get past Dream United 1-0

FCBU Media 

Under cloudy skies, FC Bengaluru United (FCBU) battled hard to record a 1-0 win over Dream United (DU) in their fourth game of the ongoing BDFA Super Division Championship 2021-22 at the Bengaluru Football Stadium. Kynsailang Khongsit (44) was the lone goalscorer for the match as the defending champions notched up their fourth win on the trot.

Both teams began cautiously. FCBU had the early chance – four minutes in, a cross from Khongsit fell neatly in Luka Majcen’s path, but was saved by the DU keeper. FCBU slowly started to build up the pressure, keeping control of possession, but were unable to convert any of the early opportunities, letting go off the ball in the midfield.

Towards the middle of the first half though, the defending champions picked up the pace. In the 34th minute Ronaldo’s shot on goal coming off the back of a perfect set up was dragged just wide of the post. In the 38th minute Chelston Pinto and Majcen combined to score, but it was declared offside. The deadlock was finally broken in the 44th minute -  Aenam G Jurwa adroitly evaded the DU defence, setting up an easy tap in for Khongsit.  

The script ran along similar lines in the second half – FCBU created several opportunities and tested the DU defence but were unable to convert. Luka, Aenam as well as Hayden Fernandes and Shelton Paul - who came on as substitutes - pressed hard and created attacking opportunities, but conversion eluded them.

FCBU play their next game against Students Union on 18th November.   

FC Bengaluru United seal dominant win over Eagles

FCBU Media 

FC Bengaluru United put in a commanding performance to beat Bangalore Eagles 4-0 in their third game of the ongoing BDFA Super Division Championship 2021-22. A brace from Luka Majcen (1, 33), Ronaldo Oliviera (16) and Batskhemlang Thangkiew (81) sealed an all-round show from the defending champions.

FCBU were quick off the blocks, getting into their opposition’s half in the very first minute of the game. A corner taken by Ronaldo was beautifully flicked to Majcen who powered in a header to get his team on the scoreboard. FCBU kept the pressure up, constantly creating chances especially from the wings. 

The second goal wasn’t long in coming – in the 16th minute a deftly crafted play between Denil and Batskhemlang set up a scoring opportunity for Ronaldo who made no mistake. There was no let-up in the intensity from the defending champions – in the 33rd minute, Bedashwar Singh and Denil combined to set up an easy tap-in for Majcen.

Bangalore Eagles upped the ante in the second half but the FCBU defence held firm, with Kinshuk, Robin Gurung, James Singh keeping them at bay, together with Srijith at the goal. A stunning long ball from Kinshuk Debnath in the 81st minute, followed by a perfect set up courtesy Ronaldo and Majcen, helped create an easy chance for Batskhemlang to make it 4-0. FCBU will be happy with their third consecutive win, and the fact that they haven’t conceded a goal thus far - an all-round team effort that holds them in good stead for the remainder of the game ahead.

 

FCBU sparkle with 3-0 win over MEG

FCBU Media 

Defending champions FC Bengaluru United put on a stellar display to beat MEG 3-0 in their third game of the BDFA Super Division Championship 2021-22 at the Bangalore Football Stadium. Luka Majcen scored a brace (50, 70) and Aenem G Jyrwa chipped in as well (24) as FCBU kept up the momentum from their previous game to record their second consecutive win in the tournament.

FCBU made an aggressive start, testing the MEG defense from the get go. The first ten minutes saw FCBU consistently in MEG’s half, creating half chances through corners and free kicks and MEG had to work hard to keep FCBU’s headers out. The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute – a strong counterattack by Luka Majcen saw him wrest the ball from the MEG midfielders and pass it on to Ronaldo Oliviera. With a series of deft touches, Ronaldo dribbled past the MEG defense to square it across the box to Aenam who tapped it in neatly to get FCBU on the scoreboard. FCBU kept up the pressure right through the first half, consistently attacking the goal. MEG slowly picked up the pace as well towards the end of the first half, but the FCBU defense held strong to keep them at bay.

FCBU began the second half on a strong note creating a chance within the first five minutes of resumption. A cross from Ronaldo in the wings was headed by Luka towards the goal only to be carried away by the MEG defender for a handball. FCBU were awarded a penalty that was cleanly put away by Luka to put FCBU 2-0 up in the 50th minute. Despite being 2-0 up, the defending champions didn’t get their foot off the pedal – in the 70th minute Subash Singh, who came in as a substitute in the second half, crafted a strong run right to the box setting up Aenem, who smartly back flicked the ball to Luka for the Slovenian to score his second goal of the game.

 

Bengaluru FC, Students Union share spoils

Bengaluru FC Media 
Students Union Media  

Bengaluru FC were made to split the points once again as Students Union FC came from behind in a 1-1 draw in the BDFA Super Division League, at the Bangalore Football Stadium, on Tuesday. Macarton Louis Nickson (15’) gave the Blue Colts an early lead, before Student Union found the equalizer late in the game through Aaryan Amla (80’).

The Blue Colts made two changes from their 1-1 draw against Bangalore Dream United, bringing on Bekey Oram and Macarton in place of Omega Vanlalhruaitluanga and Rahul Raju. Eager to get their first win of the season, the team went on the attack from the get go and took the lead fifteen minutes into the game. Lalthangliana found Bekey free in the box, whose dummy saw the ball roll to an unmarked Macarton, and the forward placed his shot low into the far corner to make it 1-0.

Jagdeep Singh, who opened his account for the season against Dream United, almost doubled Bengaluru’s lead in the 41st minute when Lalthangliana found him in space inside the box. However, the defender’s shot was creeping into the top corner until Students Union goalkeeper Abhishek Ramesh’s outstretched arm pushed it over the bar.

Five minutes into the second period, Bekey stole possession high up the pitch and played Macarton through, but the forward’s lob into the box was cleared by Sujith Kumar. Immediately after, Union were down to 10 men following Shelton Nickson’s red card for a high boot that caught Edwin Rossario.

The Blue Colts, with the advantage of an extra man, created several chances to double their lead. First, Jagdeep cut into the box from the right and saw his effort saved at the near post. Later, Shighil NS, on as a substitute, found Lalthangliana’s run through the Students Union defence, but the forward shot well wide of the mark. In the 79th minute, Bekey won possession in the midfield and found Lalthangliana unmarked in the box, but his shot was saved by Abhishek.

Students Union were back on level terms only a minute later, when Amla managed to brush past Robin Yadav’s challenge and place the ball into the far corner. From the final action of the game, Biswa Darjee’s header off Omega’s cross beat the ’keeper but bounced off the crossbar and out of play.

The Blue Colts are back in action in the League on November 17, when they take on Kodagu United FC at the same venue.

FC Bengaluru United begin title defence with a big win

FCBU Media 

FC Bengaluru United 8 (Luka Majcen-14', 45'+1', Bedashwar Singh-45'+3', Ronaldo Oliviera-48', Subash Singh-59', 69', 78' Aenam G Jurwa-63') Vs ASC 0

Defending champions FC Bengaluru United (FCBU) put in a dominating performance to seal an emphatic 8-0 victory over ASC in their second game of the ongoing BDFA Super Division Championship 2021-‘22 at the Bangalore Football Stadium. FCBU kept up the pressure and scored goals at will.

FCBU charged out of the blocks and looked on their game from the very first minute. ASC struggled to keep FCBU at bay in the first 10 minutes – Kinshuk Debnath’s header just went above the bar while Ronaldo’s freekick hit the crossbar. ASC managed just a solitary attempt on the goal, only to see it brilliantly deflected by Sreejith. It didn’t take long for ASC to buckle under the sustained pressure – Ronaldo was fouled inside the box in the 14th minute and Majcen neatly converted the penalty chance to get FCBU on the scoreboard. FCBU kept up the attack, with Kinshuk leading the way, controlling the game from the back including creating a chance for Ronaldo, through a long ball, which the striker failed to convert. After missing a couple of chances, Majcen notched up his second goal of the match, off the cross from Ronaldo. A minute later, in the 45th minute, it was Ronaldo who once again set up the goal, this time for Bedashwar to finish it off with a diving header.

 

The script rang true for pretty much the second half as well, with ASC unable to hold off the FCBU onslaught. Ronaldo scored soon after the second half began, and he was followed by Subash Singh – who came on as a substitute for Majcen in the 59th minute – who scored with his very first touch, adroitly going past the ASC defender, looping the ball past the keeper and closing it with a header. Aenem too joined the party, scoring his very first goal for FCBU in the 64th minute. Five minutes later, Subash scored his second, Ronaldo setting up an easy finish after a dominating run down the right flank. It was a hat trick of goals for Subash – a through ball from Ronaldo in the 81st minute was easily dealt with by Subash.

An emphatic 8-0 victory for FCBU, fittingly commemorating the day their home state Karnataka celebrates its statehood.