CK Vineeth's 7th minute goal helped Bengaluru beat Singapore's Tampines Rovers 1-0 in the first leg of the AFP Cup quarterfinals at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on Wednesday.
Sunil Chhetri stole the ball off a Tampines player in the midfield and picked up Alwyn George, who was tackled just before he could pull the trigger in the box, but the ball fell rather kindly to Vineeth, whose tap in took a bit off the post before going in. The result got Albert Roca's tenure as Bengaluru FC coach to a winning start.
The match was held behind closed doors for security reasons following incidents of street violence, arson and vandalism in the city of Bengaluru on Monday.
Roca, playing a 4-4-2, chose to partner Vineeth with Chhetri while Nishu Kumar started in the left-back position alongside Juan Gonzalez, John Johnson and Rino Anto. Joining Gonzalez on the debutantes' list were midfielders Cameron Watson and Alvaro Rubio.
Bengaluru came close to doubling their lead in the 31st minute when Chhetri nodded down a cross in Eugeneson Lyngdoh's path but Tampines keeper Mohamad Izwan was quick to steal it off the midfielder's feet.
Searching an away goal, Rovers switched gears in the second half but Bengaluru did enough to keep a clean sheet and controlled the game for the most part. The Bengaluru defence didn't give much joy to Jordan Webb, Billy Mehmet and Jermaine Pennant, constantly winning the ball and patiently building up play from the back.
The home side also had several presentable chances to seal the tie in the second half. CK Vineeth made an error in judgement when, from a breakaway move in 72nd minute, he decided to shoot from inside the box instead of picking an unmarked Chhetri on his left.
Bengaluru will travel to Singapore for the second leg on September 21.
