Vasco (Goa), (Samajweekly) Jamshedpur held on to sixth position after staving off a fightback from Bengaluru FC to win 3-2 in what was both sides’ last match of the season in the Indian Super League on Thursday.
Jamshedpur scored three goals in the first half but had to then weather a spirited second half show in the second half from Bengaluru to win the match at the Tilak Maidan Stadium.
Goals from Stephen Eze (16th minute), Seiminlen Doungel (34th minute) and David Grande (41st minute) put Jamshedpur up at the break before Bengaluru responded through goals from Francisco Gonzalez (62nd minute) and Sunil Chhetri (71st minute).
Jamshedpur were all over Bengaluru in the opening half. They constantly caused problems for Bengaluru’s inexperienced defence and raced to a 3-0 lead at the break.
Eze, who scored the winner in the reverse fixture, opened the scoring for Jamshedpur through a free-kick. The defender converted Aitor Monroy’s cross at the far post after Bengaluru keeper Lalthuammawia Ralte failed to clear his lines.
Winter signing Doungel soon joined the party, netting his maiden goal for Jamshedpur and also the season’s first. Farukh Choudhary squared the ball to Doungel, who skipped past his marker before drilling his shot at the far corner from an acute angle.
Jamshedpur continued their ruthlessness in front of the goal and found the net once again from a set-piece just before the closure of the first half. Monroy whipped a teasing cross in the box for the unmarked Grande, who nodded home past Ralte with ease.
Bengaluru made two changes at the break with Gonzalez and Erik Paartalu coming on. Those substitutions would prove handy as Naushad Moosa’s side dominated the second half.
They received a way back as Gonzalez cut short their deficit with a strong finish. Jamshedpur’s defence failed to deal with Parag Shrivas’s throw-in and the Spaniard pounced on the loose ball, burying his header into the net.
There was more to come from Bengaluru and it was their talisman Chhetri who pulled another back. Harmanjot Khabra delivered a powerful cross in the box for Chhetri, who got ahead of Eze and scored a thumping header.
Jamshedpur’s defence held firm in the dying minutes as they completed the double over their opponents.
