ISL 2018-19: 'Miss Against Jamshedpur Will Haunt Me' - Bengaluru FC's Sunil Chhetri
Bengaluru FC were held to a 2-2 draw by Jamshedpur FC in their second Indian Super League encounter at the Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday night with the visitors scoring a late equaliser in stoppage time.
Nishu Kumar and Sunil Chhetri had scored for the Blues while Gourav Mukhi and Sergio Cidoncha had scored for the visitors. The home side looked like they were headed to the top of the table with all three points when Chhetri scored the second in the 88th minute.
But Cidoncha's equaliser saw both teams share the spoils in what has been dubbed the Steel Derby. The result now sees five teams tied on four points, including both Bengaluru and Jamshedpur.
After the game, Chhetri thought he had got the job done before the visitors struck late.
"I thought that goal did the job," Chhetri said. "I was kind of hoping that we could close out the game after I scored and get all three points. But we're disappointed with the way we conceded right at the end."
'The miss haunts me': Chhetri
Chhetri had the chance to grab a second when he was put through on goal by Miku. The Venezuelan striker had done well to receive and control the ball on the left flank and released Chhetri with a sublime through ball.
But even though he had ample time to pick his spot, the skipper's shot beat Jamshedpur FC goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury but ultimately hit the post.
Also read: 'It Was My Dream to Play Chhetri, Score Against Gurpreet' - Jamshedpur's Gourav Mukhi
"That [miss] haunts me now," he said. "At that time, when it was 2-1, I should have buried that. I watched the replay again and I should have done better.
"That was an absolutely beautiful ball by Miku and I should have done better. If that had gone in, the game would have been finished at 3-1."
Bengaluru FC are yet to beat Jamshedpur at home in two outings. Last season saw the visitors win 1-0 thanks to a late penalty and this time the Blues lost two points when Sergio Cidoncha equalised in the last minute of stoppage time.
Where they were very defensive last season, this season saw a revitalised Jamshedpur side that had 56% of the possession (according to the ISL's official stats).
"They are a good side," Chhetri admitted. "They keep the ball and they look like a team that knows what they're doing.
"They did their homework so they'll be a difficult side [this season]," he concluded.
Bengaluru's next match is an away trip to Pune City on 22 October while Jamshedpur host ATK on 21 October.