Subash, Bright deliver historic first win for Bharat FC

Bharat FC notched its first ever win, beating Salgaocar FC 2-0 in an exciting encounter Hero I-League encounter at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mhalunge-Balewadi. The win, the first in the club’s history was not bereft of drama as Bharat FC finished the game with only nine men, two players having been sent off and Arindam Bhattacharya saving a penalty in injury time. The result sees Bharat FC climb up one position to 10th with five points from their five games. Salgaocar FC remain sixth after their second consecutive loss.

Bharat FC opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Subash Singh bundled in the rebound after Kris Bright’s shot had been parried by the Salgaocar FC keeper. New Zealand international Kris Bright then doubled the advantage, winning and converting a penalty in the 45th minute. The second half saw Bharat FC’s G Vignesh sent-off after picking up a second yellow card. Seven minutes from the end, central defender Dharmaraj Ravanan received his marching orders. Though severely depleted, Bharat FC held on confidently to secure a memorable victory.

The game began in nervous fashion for Bharat FC when in the seventh minute,Salgaocar FC’s Bikash Jairu failed to tap in the ball from five yards out after being set up by the nimble Brian Mascarenhas. Bharat FC were dealt a blow in the very next minute when Bobby Hassell limped off with a toe injury to be replaced by G Vignesh. The latter’s introduction seemed to galvanize Bharat FC who began to string together cohesive attacking moves consistently. Young Rajinder Kumar, making his third I-League start of the season, was in impressive form making a number of probing runs down the right flank, pulling the wing-back out of position and sending in a couple of dangerous crosses.

It was one such instinctive run by Rajinder that gave Bharat FC its opening goal. The winger was deftly released by Mehrajuddin Wadoo and the winger’s cross was awkwardly headed out by a retreating Clifton Dias for a corner. Lester Fernadez’s resulting corner found Kris Bright on the edge of the Salgaocar FC box and the striker’s thundering drive was too hot for Subrata Paul in the Salgaocar goal to gather. The loose ball was pounced upon by Subash Singh, who deftly directed the ball into the back of the net, sending the home crowd into raptures.

Bharat FC continued to pile on the pressure with Rajinder and Subash combining well down the right to constantly trouble the Salgaocar FC defense. The pressure finally bore fruit in the 45th minute. Arindam Bhattacharya punted a long ball up the field and a willing Kris Bright was torpedoed by an on-rushing Subrata Paul in the 18-yard box. The referee had no hesitation pointing to the spot, also flashing a yellow card in Paul’s face. Bright had no problems converting the penalty, placing a precise shot in the far corner, the ball comfortably evading Paul’s outstretched hand.

Bharat FC went into the half-time break with a two-goal cushion and looked the more dangerous of the two sides after the restart. The impressive Bright who dropped deep to see more of the ball constantly harried the two Salgaocar FC centre-backs, often forcing them to drop deep and consequently opening up space for his central midfielders and wingers.

Bharat FC suffered a setback in the 54th minute when G Vignesh was sent-off for his second bookable offence. Against 10 men, Salgaocar FC exerted considerable pressure but the Bharat FC defense held strong. Marshalled expertly by the burly Gouramangi Singh in the center, Bharat FC held its shape, breaking up many a Salgaocar attack.

Douhou Pierre gave Bharat FC a big scare in the 81st minute, wriggling past the attentions of Syed Rahim Nabi, advancing down on goal. Arindam Bhattacharya the Bharat FC custodian was quickest to react, rushing off his line and sliding to collect the ball off Pierre’s toes. 10 minutes later, Ravanan Dharmaraj hauled down Jaison Vales inside the area, Salgaocar were awarded a penalty while Ravanan earned his second yellow card. Douhou Pierre stepped up but Arindam Bhattacharya dived to his left, smothering the ball and protecting Bharat FC’s two-goal advantage.