Late goal helps Punjab FC beat Bengaluru 3-2, grab first win afterseven games

Luka Majcen scored a winner in the sixth minute of the as Punjab FC defeated Bengaluru FC 32 in the Indian Super League ISL 202425 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday night The home team broke their sevengamelong winless run with an emphatic comeback that saw them strike thrice in the second half to get three points under the belt and stay in ninth spot with 23 points to their nameAlberto Noguera pulled off a slick cornerkick in the 23rd minute welldirected to Sunil Chhetri on the far post that produced Bengaluru FCrsquos first concrete chance of the game Chhetrirsquos headed effort was on target but blocked in time to keep the scores levelNoguera replicated a similar delivery from another corner kick in the 36th minute this time from the left side He attempted a different route this time giving the ball to Rahul Bheke who was placed at a distance down the centre Bheke thundered his shot above the post though as he couldnrsquot keep his effort on targetMuhammad Suhail came close to breaking the deadlock for Punjab FC four minutes later as he landed in a promising position inside the right side of the 18yard box Ricky Shabong squared up a pass for Suhail which he picked at the first go but ended up shooting wayward of the left postBengaluru FC retaliated on the brink of halftime as Roshan Singh saw a yard of space on the left wing and curled in a cross for Edgar Mendez inside the box Mendezrsquos header missed the target on the right keeping the scores level at the end of the first essay of the matchMendez pulled a goal in the Bluesrsquo favour four minutes into the second half though Chhetri initiated a move from wide out the left flank and a lateral ball inside the Punjab FC box was hastily cleared by their backline The ball ricocheted off Mendezrsquos boot before striking the back of the net to get the Blues the leadPetros Giakoumakis quickly snapped the momentum of the game by enabling Punjab FC to secure the equaliser by earning a spotkick that Asmir Suljic ended up taking in the 55th minute Suljic showed impeccable accuracy hammering the ball in the high centre of the net to get the game back to level terms againFilip Mrzljakrsquos smarts inside the box got Punjab FC the lead back in the 79th minute though It was a culmination of Punjab FCrsquos ploy to drag Bengaluru FCrsquos defence wide and exploit the spaces at the centre Khaiminthang Lhungdimrsquos cross from the right was met by Luka Majcen who nodded it on target only for it to be saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu Mrzljak pounced on the rebound to target the top right corner resulting in the teamrsquos second goal of the eveningBheke had been a formidable presence inside the box throughout the game and that yielded the required returns for Bengaluru FC He jumped upon a cross from Mendez following a corner to smash it into the centre of the goal upon the commencement of the injury time symbolising the backandforth nature of contestPunjab FC yet didnrsquot let their guard down and instead stayed patient in absorbing waves of pressure and spotting the right moment to hit Bengaluru FC on the counterattack Deep into the added time of the second half they executed one such flawless fast break that Majcen rounded off Nihal Sudheeshrsquos through ball from the situation was met by Majcen controlled by his right foot in the middle of the 18yard box and then drilled into the bottom left corner to notch a tremendous comeback win for Punjab FCBengaluru FC will play next against Jamshedpur FC on February 9 whereas Punjab FC are set to meet Mohun Bagan Super Giant on February 5This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever