ISL 2019-20: Bengaluru FC vs NorthEast United Live Commentary

Published at :October 21, 2019 at 9:46 PM

Modified at :October 22, 2019 at 6:28 AM

Match report: Bengaluru FC Vs NorthEast United: Resilient Highlanders hold out for point
Indian player ratings: Bengaluru Vs NorthEast United: Ashique lone ranger in dull stalemate
Post match press conference (Bengaluru FC): Carles Cuadrat: Happy with players sticking to our strategy
Post match press conference (NorthEast United FC): Robert Jarni: It was a very tough game against Bengaluru FC

FULL TIME! 0-0 90 + 1’ The Blues looking for one final throw of the dice as they take a throw in from the left. 90’ 4 Minutes of stoppage time has been announced 89’ SUBSTITUTION Kean Lewis replaces Manuel Onwu as the spearhead of the BFC attack for the final few minutes.

88’ SUBSTITUTION Asamoah Gyan has been replaced by the Highlanders. Barreiro came on to take his place

86’ Asamoah Gyan tries a shot from more than 30 yards but wasn’t even close to troubling Sandhu in the Bengaluru goal

84’ Carles Cuadrat seems to be having a pretty bad day at the office as he’s been left furious by many of the decisions being made on the night

82’ SUBSTITUTION The Highlanders respond by replacing Nikhil Kadam with Khumanthem Meetei.

81’ SUBSTITUTION Eugeneson Lyngdoh is back in a Bengaluru FC shirt as he replaced Harmanjot Khabra

79’ Rakesh Pradhan with a spectacular tackle on Udanta Singh as the winger tried to find his way to the touch line

78’ Eugeneson Lyngdoh to make his long -awaited return to the BFC squad as he seems to be readying up to come on.

72’ SUBSTITUTION Milan Singh Ongbam set to replace Puitea as Robert Jarni looks to spark his team to life with a change in midfield.

71’ Midfield star Raphael Augusto down and receiving some treatment near the half-line. Doesn’t look like he’ll need to come off though.

69’ Carles Cuadrat has been left fuming on the touch line by some of the decisions being made by match referee Venkatesh R.

67’ Its raining cats and dogs in Bengaluru and the players are having an extremely tough time out on the pitch

63’ Supreme shot from outside the box by Nishu Kumar is parried away brilliantly by Subhashish

58’ High-pressure football being played by both sides with neither able to create any clear chances.

54' The physicality of the tie certainly hasn't dropped with both teams going gung-ho in an attempt to open the scoring.

50' OFF THE BAR! Asamoah Gyan with the best chance of the game as his curling effort comes off the crossbar. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu relieved.

46' The second half is now underway!

HALF TIME! Both teams have now gone back into the dressing rooms. Neither side has been able to really seize the advantage in what was a physical encounter with both teams misfiring quite badly in the final third. Some of the referee's decisions didn't go down well with the staff or the fans. The closest anyone came to breaking the deadlock was when Asamoah Gyan lashed the ball into the back of the Bengaluru net, only for it to be ruled out for offside. It can be said for sure that an exciting 2nd half awaits the fans inside the the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

45' 1 minute of stoppage time has been announced by the 4th official.

42' OFF THE LINE! Chhetri's powerful volley from a tight angle was blocked on the line by the NorthEast United defenders.

40' Neither manager has resigned to their dugout yet and both Jarni and Cuadrat are still on the sidelines shouting instructions at the players. Dedication to the cause.

36' OFFSIDE! The Highlanders' new signing Gyan put the ball into the back of the Blues net, only to then be ruled offside.

34' CLOSE! NorthEast United had their closest chance of the game from a horrible back-pass by Bheke. Tlang's shot on goal was blocked off by the Blues defence while Chaves' follow-up attempt went disappointingly wide.

31' From a Bengaluru corner, Kuruniyan attempts an acrobatic scissor-action shot from the edge of the area, which looped onto the roof of the net.

27' Augusto makes a wonderful driving run forward and threads a special pass to Udanta Singh, only for the winger to miss from just a few feet away from goal.

24' The Highlanders are slowly starting to take control of proceedings with the Bengaluru midfield being slightly overrun at this time.

21' Indian shotstopper Sandhu made his first real save of the game on the back of a wave of Highlanders attacks.

19' Chhetri pulled a shot wide of goal with NEUFC coach Robert Jarni absolutely raging at his team's lack of defensive organisation.

16' Ashique Kuruniyan coming close to opening the scoring with the best effort of the match so far. Despite having support in the box, he took the shot on from a tight angle, and sent it narrowly wide.

14' This has been an extremely physical affair so far with both teams consistently making sliding challenges.

11' There seems to be a general lack of composure running all over the pitch with neither side able to dwell on the ball for too long. Bengaluru FC had their 2nd corner of the game which resulted in Onwu coming close with a half-volley that was off-target.

7' Neither team has managed to really take control of the ball with both sides still battling to get into the ascendancy in the opening minutes.

5' The Blues have certainly got off to the more positive start. After an Udanta Singh half-chance, the Blues now have a corner.

3' As it stands, new acquisition Ashique Kuruniyan is operating out of the left-back position. Does Cuadrat have a special trick up his sleeve?

1' IT'S TIME FOR KICK OFF! Bengaluru FC and NorthEast United begin the fight to earn their first points of the new ISL season.

7:28PM: The teams are now lining up for the pre-match handshakes. With just minutes left till the Blues' first home game of the campaign, you can feel the atmosphere getting ready to erupt inside the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. The West Block has brought in another of their trademark Tifos, acknowledging the return to their beloved fortress.

7:15PM: The NorthEast United players were also involved in a Rondo for the first few minutes of warm-up and then moved onto their long passing. With just 15 minutes left till kick-off, both teams have now returned to the dressing rooms. The team banners are entering the pitch as we edge towards the opening whistle.

7:10PM: Mikel Guillen is currently conducting warm-up drills with the Bengaluru FC players. While some are involved in a Rondo near the half-line, and others are working on short passes and first touches, in pairs. The Blues attackers are working on crosses as well.

7:00PM: Erik Paartalu's omission from the match day squad suggests that he is still recovering from a prior knock, meaning that this does seem like a change that was forced by his lack of match fitness. New signing Suresh Singh Wangjam replaces him on the Bengaluru FC bench.

6:55PM: Players from both sides are now out on the pitch and conducting their warm-ups. The passionate Blues fans are still entering the venue in large numbers while everyone in the stadium are already making their voice heard. Chants about Chhetri and Rahul Bheke can be heard resonating around the stadium.

6:50PM: Here are today's substitutes:

Bengaluru FC: Lyngdoh, Lewis, Anto, Semboi, Wangjam, Patra, Gursimrat Gill

NorthEast United FC: Pawan Kumar, Vaz, Meetei, Ongnam, Barreiro, Triadis, Ghosh

6:40 PM: Here are today's starting Lineups -

Bengaluru FC XI: Sandhu; Bheke, Khabra, Juanan, Nishu Kumar; Udanta, Augusto, Delgado, Kuruniyan; Onwu, Chhetri

NorthEast United FC XI: Subhashish Roy; Reagan Singh, Komorski, Leudo, Heerings; Tlang, Pradhan, Puitea, Kadam; Chaves, Gyan

6:35 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru for the 2nd fixture of the 2019/20 edition of the Hero ISL. Bengaluru FC are sets to kick off their campaign against one of their playoff opponents from last season in NorthEast United FC. I'm Nikhil Vinod, and with help from my colleague Yognath Vasu, we'll ensure that you stay up to date with all the action.

Welcome to ISL 2019-20 Bengaluru FC Vs NorthEast United live commentary of Khel Now, where we will bring you all the live action from the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru FC Vs NorthEast United Kick-Off: 7:30 PM IST

To read the match preview, click here.

To read the pre-match press conference of the match, click here and here.

Carles Cuadrat says he will try to be competitive and not think about defending the title

“I think that the term ‘defend the title’ is a very English expression. We don’t use that in Spain. Maybe it is a cultural thing, but Barcelona is not considered to be defending the title in La Liga this year. They are just one more team competing to get the trophy. I never tell my players that they have to defend the title. The important thing is to stay competitive and to try and reach the playoffs. Once you are in the playoff, it will be about those three games and anything can happen,” the tactician said.

Robert Jarni revealed he is confident of getting three points against Bengaluru FC

"Both teams had a lot of changes this season and it will be a different game from last season. We feel we can do something good against them. So, we are confident and motivated to bring all three points home," the Croatian said.