‘LUCKY TO WIN AFTER AWFUL LAST 20 MINS’

Male, Feb. 14: Bengaluru FC head coach Albert Roca said his team were lucky to emerge 3-2 winner after an “awful last 20 minutes” in the first leg fixture of the AFC Cup against Maldivian side TC Sports Club in Male.

Bengaluru FC rode on Thongkhosiem Haokip’s double strike to pip TC Sports Club and Roca admitted they were lucky to have emerged unscathed in what was a nervy match.

Haokip gave Bengaluru the lead in the 52nd minute before Australian defender Erik Paartulu made it 20 in the 69th minute.

The home team struck twice in the space of two minutes — Anatoliy Vlasichev scoring in the 71st and Ibrahim Mahudee finding the target in the 73rd — latching onto errors from Nishu Kumar at the National Stadium on Tuesday night.

Haokip then scored his second in the 78th minute to ensure that the 2016 runners-up take a slender advantage into the return leg in Bengaluru on February 20.

Roca also expressed unhappiness at the condition of the pitch.

“I feel we were lucky, because the last 20 minutes were awful for us, physically. The weather and pitch conditions were not something we would have liked and they (TC Sports Club) made most of it scoring twice and could have equalised late on,” he said. “It was tough for us during the game as well because they are a team that keep pushing you.

“They are aggressive and have some good quality in their side. We were aware about it, but it was very tough in the last quarter as many of the players were not in good condition.”

Asked about his side letting in two quick goals, he said, “It was a tough game.”