AGENCIES, HISOR: Bengaluru FC suffered a 0-1 defeat at the hands of FC Istiklol of Tajikistan in the first leg of the Inter-Zone Finals of the AFC Cup football at Hisor on Wednesday.
Bengaluru, the last edition runners-up, were outplayed by the Tajikistan side and would consider themselves lucky to have wriggled out of the away match without conceding too many goals.
The visiting side survived an incessant onslaught from FC Istiklol, the 2015 champions, but the home side’s profligacy in front of goal saved Bengaluru from losing the match by a bigger margin.
Dmitry Barkov scored the only goal of the match in the 27th minute.
For most part of the match, the Bengaluru were left to defend their citadel and the matter got worse as the backline of Albert Roca’s side committed several mistakes. Bengaluru dominated the possession but they could not string together a dangerous goal-scoring opportunity throughout the match. Winger Udanta Singh had a fine run down the flank early in the match and then Lenny Rodrigues had a chance to test the Istiklol goalkeeper from a free kick. But after that it was Istiklol who dictated terms on their opponents.
