Bengaluru FC marched into the semifinals of the Durand Cup after securing a late win over Kerala Blasters in the quarterfinal at the Salt Lake Stadium on Friday.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz scored in the 94th minute to give Bengaluru a 1-0 lead, with no further surprises before the final whistle. The former Kerala Blasters man blasted in the winner from a toe-poked ball from Sunil Chhetri in the final stoppage time minute.
The Argentine's fourth goal of the tournament came at the right time for Bengaluru FC. They will now face Mohun Bagan in the semifinal on August 27.
In the dying embers of the Durand Cup tie, a cross inside the box from a corner by Fanai fell for Chhetri to poke it towards Diaz waiting at the far-post. He made no mistake from close range as he thumped the ball into the roof of the net.
Earlier, two Northeastern teams made it into the semifinal stage of the Durand Cup. NorthEast United FC and Shillong Lajong FC gained entry to the semifinal defeating Indian Army Football Team and East Bengal in their respective ties.
NEUFC secured a 2-0 win over Indian Army, while Shillong Lajong pipped East Bengal 2-1 to make their way into the Durand Cup's first semifinal. Considering extraordinary circumstances, the organizers changed the venue of the match.
Scheduled to be held in Kolkata, the match has now been shifted to Shillong. "In response to overwhelming requests from supporters of both these teams, and in recognition of the traditional significance of the chosen venue as a stronghold of support for these clubs, we have decided to relocate the semifinal match between Northeast United FC and Shillong Lajong FC to Shillong and reschedule it one day later, i.e. 26 August,” the organisers announced on Thursday.
