Durand Cup 2023: Defending champions Bengaluru Football Club handed a 1-1 draw by Indian Air Force Football Team

Bengaluru Football Club started their Durand Cup 2023 campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Indian Air Force Football team. The defending champions, who came with their second team were surely given a toe-to-toe fight by the Indian Air Force Football Team who had some great moments in the match. Vivek Kumar was the scorer for Indian Air Force Football Team while Salam Jhonson was the scorer for Bengaluru Football Club.

First Half | Bengaluru Football Club vs Indian Air Force Football Team

An eventful first half started with an early chance for Indian Air Force. Zico Zorem Sanga had an opportunity from the middle of the box to stunt everyone on the ground. But, it was Edmund Lalrindika who found the first opportunity for the defending champions. However, his shot from outside the box was not on target to give them an early lead.

In the 20th minute of the game, against the run of play, it was Indian Air Force who found the net for the first time in the match. A huge mistake from the Bengaluru Football team captain, Parag Satish lead to an opportunity to Vivek Kumar for an easy tap-in. Not to forget Mohammed Aqib's great run from the left and his cross that started everything for the Indian Air Force football team. In the 26th minute, Vivek had another chance to increase the lead, but he failed to do so.

Post concerning the goal, Bengaluru had many opportunities to make it even-stevens, but they kept on missing opportunities one by one. In the 38th minute, the best of the opportunities came with Beke Oram missing a chance from Johnson Singh's cross. The second-best chance came to Edmund Lalrindika who missed an easy volley from the centre of the box. The first half ended 1-0 as a confident Indian Air Force team left the field.

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Second half | Bengaluru Football Club vs Indian Air Force Football Team

The second half started with a few changes for both teams. Monirul Molla came in for Bengaluru Football Club to replace Edmund Lalrindika. For Indian Air Force, Saurav Sadhukhan and Naorem Somanda Singh replaced Mandeep Singh and Zico Zorem Sangha.

Soon after coming to the field, Monirul started making all the moves and started creating a few opportunities for his team. Monirul along with Salam Jhonson from the right caused a lot of problems for the Indian Air Force team. Shreyash Ketkar was the main linkup between them in the midfield. It did not take too much time for Monirul and Salam to create something opportunistic for his team as in the 59th minute Salam found the net from a terrific cross from Monirul Molla.

With the scoreline at 1-1, both teams started feeling the pressure to finish the game with three points. However, with the humid conditions at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, it was tough for both coaches to keep on pressing without making any changes. Soon, double changes came in for both teams with Lalpekhulua and Fanai providing the fresh legs to Bengaluru's attack. In the 70th minute, Bekey Oram's dangerous-looking cross from the right would have caused a few problems if it would have found Lalpekhulua's head inside the box.

Bengaluru kept on looking for a goal while IAFFT looked happy with a draw

As the game progressed towards the end of the match, it looked like Indian Army Football Club was happy with a draw against the defending champions. Meantime, Bengaluru tried to break in through with Salam and Lalpekhulua from the right flank. In the 84th minute, Bengaluru's best chance came from Salam Jhonson's cross. But, Thokchom Malemnganba could not get the header in at the perfect time. In the 88th minute defender Robin Yadav sneaked in for a chance inside the box but could only manage to head it straight into the hands of Dinesh.

The late drama continues as the referee announced additional minutes of seven to be played after a gruelling 90 minutes. In the 94th minute, Indian Air Force nearly started a late party with Naorem Somananda Singh's bullet shot from outside the box heading towards the goal. But a block from Parag Satish meant the game would end at 1-1 as the Indian Air Force Football team left the ground as the happier team with a chance to make it to the quarter-finals.