A second-half hat-trick from Miku helped a 10-man Bengaluru FC stun Mohun Bagan 4-2 to march into the final of the Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday.
Bengaluru, which played the majority of the second half after Nishu Kumar’s red card, over-turned Aser Dipanda Dicka’s opener to set-up a summit meeting with East Bengal.
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Miku, who talked about conserving his energy for the right moments in the searing heat, conjured up the telling moments. He wasn’t bustling down the flanks or chasing every ball. But, when presented with an opportunity in his zone, he struck his 17th, 18th and 19th goals of the season.
It was Mohun Bagan which took the lead right before half-time. Akram Mograbhi was the first to a loose ball in the box as Subhasish Bose lost his marker. The Iranian managed a low cross into the box to which Dipanda Dicka was the quickest to react to nod the ball into the net.
After the break, Albert Roca switched to three at the back by hooking Harmanjot Khabra for attacker Antonio Dovale. But, the manager’s tactics seemed to have thrown out of the window when Nishu Kumar was sent off for committing a last-man challenge on Kadam at the start of the half.
The Mohun Bagan players, however, couldn't make the numerical advantage count. They let Bengaluru’s attackers have the ball with Dovale providing the much-needed spark in the middle.
The pressure was telling as the match turned on its head in the space of a couple of minutes. Udanta Singh found Miku at the edge of the 18-yard area, as the Venezuelan evaded a challenge and composed himself, before firing the ball past Shilton.
For Miku’s second, a piece of quick thinking from Dovale caught the Bagan defence off-guard. The Spaniard passed the ball immediately from a free-kick as Miku, unchallenged, struck home the decisive goal.
From that point, Bengaluru was seemingly under control and killed the contest towards the end of 90 minutes. Miku stepped up to slam the ball to Shilton’s left to complete his treble after Udanta was brought down inside the box.
Skipper Chhetri added the finishing touches by curling in a splendid effort from outside the box on the left side. Moments later, Dicka pulled one back but it proved to be a case of too little too late.
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