N. Siva Sakthi played the substitute role well to find the equaliser in injury time and help Bengaluru FC (BFC) hold a 10-man Mohammedan Sporting 1-1 in the concluding Group A league match of the 131st Durand Cup football tournament at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Friday.
The result saw Mohammedan Sporting emerge the group champion with 10 points from three wins and a draw. Bengaluru FC finished second with eight points from two wins and as many draws.
The two made the quarterfinals, while Jamshedpur FC (six points), FC Goa (four) and Indian Air Force (zero) exited from the league stage.
On the offensive
Sporting looked more organised to begin with and kept the star-studded Bengaluru side under pressure right from the start.
The local giant found the lead in the 13th minute when its wing-back Abhash Thapa essayed a back-centre which was met with a rasping volley from Sheikh Faiaz. Bengaluru goalkeeper Lara managed to block the shot but Pritam Singh was close by to slot home the rebound.
Sporting was reduced to 10 men in the 74th minute when midfielder Abhisek Halder was marched off with the second booking of the match. Bengaluru continued to push for the equaliser but failed repeatedly as its attack combination of Sunil Chhetri and Roy Krishna failed to do much in the Sporting box.
Siva Sakthi, who came in as a late substitute, came to the rescue of BFC and helped it preserve the unbeaten record against Mohd. Sporting.
Meanwhile in Guwahati, two second-half goals helped host NorthEast United beat Sudeva Delhi 2-0 and post its first win in the tournament this year.
The results:
Group A: Mohd. Sporting 1 (Pritam Singh 13) drew with Bengaluru FC 1 (Siva Sakthi 90+2).
Group D: North East United FC 2 (Dipu Mirdha 64, Gani Ahmed Nigam 90+6-pen) bt Sudeva Delhi FC 0.
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