Bengaluru FC lifted their first-ever Durand Cup title as they beat fellow Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC 2-1 in the final at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Sunday.
BFC were the ISL 2018-19 champions, but also have six other top domestic titles to their name and will be vying for their seventh. They have presented the most successful striking force of the tournament with talisman Sunil Chhetri, Roy Krishna and Siva Sakthi, all being in goal-scoring form
The 34-day tournament played across three states for the first time will culminate with the 47th and final match between two top teams and former champions of the Indian Super League (ISL), India's topmost football division. While BFC would be fighting for its seventh domestic title, MCFC
It was a largely cagey second semi-final played here at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) with HFC having the lion's share of chances as well as possession and their star striker Batholomew Ogbeche being wasteful for once, but in the end, the Blues did well enough to win the batt
A last gasp winner by Bipin Singh (90+1') proved to be fatal for Andrey Cherynshov's men who bravely fought until the very end as their Durand Cup campaign came to an end while the Islanders became the first finalists of the Durand Cup 2022.
The ISL side put past three with the help of Ogbeche (6'), Akash Mishra (45'), and Javier Siverio (68') whereas Rajasthan United FC managed to equalise with a goal from Martin Chaves (29', P) but it was too little to make any difference.
While Scottish player Greg Stewart (40', 100' 118') got a hat-trick, former Chennaiyin player Lallianzuala Chhangte (78', 94') scored a brace for Mumbai City.
Both sides shared a similar fate in the group stage as the Islanders collected seven points from four games and topped their group while the Marina Machans picked up as many points and finished second in their group.