ISL: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu shines as Bengaluru edge JFC in tight contest

On a night when India’s talismanic footballer Sunil Chhetri became the most-capped Indian Super League player with 195 appearances, it was his long-time teammate Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who turned back the clock with a goalkeeping masterclass as Bengaluru FC edged hosts Jamshedpur FC 1-0 at the JRD Tata Sports Complex on Saturday.

Jamshedpur, looking to stay in contention for the title, went on the offensive from the outset but simply could not find a way past Gurpreet. Ryan Williams’ goal in the 38th minute eventually proved enough to hand Bengaluru the win and inflict Jamshedpur’s first home defeat of the season.

With the victory, Bengaluru FC climbed to fourth place with 20 points from 12 matches, while Jamshedpur slipped to third with 21 points from the same number of games and are now almost out of the title race.

Earlier, Jamshedpur FC began brightly and registered their first shot on goal in the 15th minute when Madih Talal set up Messi Bouli for a long-range effort that failed to trouble Gurpreet.

He was again on the money a few minutes later when Rosenberg Gabriel delivered the ball from the right towards the penalty area in the hope that Mohammed Sanan would latch on to it, but the India goalkeeper dived forward to collect it at the second attempt.

Undeterred, Jamshedpur continued to dictate terms and earned a free kick on the left flank after Bouli was fouled by Rahul Bheke. However, Pratik Chaudhari’s effort from Talal’s delivery was ruled offside.

The match slowly turned on its head thereafter, with Williams going close on a couple of occasions before the hosts managed to keep him at bay. He, however, had the last laugh in the 38th minute when he struck with his right foot.

It was a long ball from near the halfway line that was brought down neatly by Lalremtluanga Fanai, allowing Williams to take a couple of touches before slotting the ball into the bottom-left corner through the legs of Jamshedpur defenders. Albino Gomes got a hand to it, but not enough to keep it out.

Despite conceding, the hosts refused to give up and continued to push for an equaliser, but luck was not on their side. After the change of ends, the pattern remained the same, with Gurpreet producing a brilliant right-handed save to deny Bouli from point-blank range.

The contest later turned into a stop-start affair, but despite sustained pressure and strong home support, Jamshedpur slumped to only their second loss of the season.