Bagan thrash Maziya in AFC Cup

Bengaluru FC beaten by Lao Toyota

Guwahati, Feb 24: Mohun Bagan started their AFC Cup campaign on a strong note, demolishing Maziya Sports and Recreation Club of Maldives 5-2 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here on Wednesday.

Jeje Lalpekhlua (33rd, 69th minutes) and Cornell Glenn (35th, 72nd) struck twice each for the reigning I-League champions after star winger Sony Norde (19th) had opened the scoring in the Group G match.

Ahmed Imaaz breached the Mohun Bagan defence in the 61st minute and an own goal by Raju Gaikwad gifted the visitors a second goal in the 77th.

The hosts started on an attacking note, putting the Maziya defence under sustained pressure. Bagan were rewarded for their efforts when Norde found the net with a superb free-kick.

Norde was involved in Bagan’s second goal as well, putting in some good work on the left flank before passing to Jeje, who made no mistake.

The Kolkata giants increased their lead only a couple of minutes later as Glenn produced a nice finish after receiving a pass from Jeje just inside the pelty box.

Imaaz, who was the among the best performers for Maziya on the night, pulled one back for the visitors with an easy tap in in the 61st minute.

But if that goal prompted Maziya fans to dream of a comeback, their hopes were quickly dashed with Jeje and Glenn both finding the net.

News from Vientiane: Bengaluru FC started their 2016 AFC Cup campaign on the wrong note as they went down 1-2 to Lao Toyota FC in a Group H match at the tiol Stadium here on Wednesday.

Kazuo Homma opened the scoring in the third minute itself for the home side to give them a 1-0 lead.

Things became worse for the Indian club as Phattha Syvilay scored in the 35th minute for the hosts to give them a comfortable 2-0 lead.

Both teams went into the break with a 2-0 score line in favour of Lao Toyota.

Coming in the second half, the away team showed some positive intent to get the first goal for them but some good defending by Lao Toyota denied Bengaluru the advantage.

The hosts still kept on pressing in the Bengaluru box to get their third goal but failed to sneak through the defence.

But just a few minutes from the fil whistle, C.K. Vineeth scored the only goal for Bengaluru FC in the 90th minute. (IANS)