Bengaluru defeats Kitchee to enter last eight of AFC Cup

A brace from skipper Sunil Chhetri (31st and 33rd minute), and a winner from Daniel Lalhlimpuia (51st) took BFC past the favourite in a tense encounter.

Bengaluru FC is now the only Indian club left in the AFC Cup.

Bengaluru FC (BFC) marched into the AFC Cup quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over Kitchee SC at the Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong on Wednesday. BFC, which fell in the round-of-16 last year, is now the only Indian club left in the competition.

A brace from skipper Sunil Chhetri (31st and 33rd minute), and a winner from Daniel Lalhlimpuia (51st) took BFC past the favourite in a tense encounter.

Kitchee SC, which finished its league stage engagements as group-topper, shot into the early lead when Rufino Del Burgo sneaked into the box and nodded home a cross from skipper Lo Kwan Yee.

The equalizer came just a minute later when Eugeneson Lyngdoh was brought down by Huang Yang in the box. Chhetri converted an audacious chip to make it 1-1. Two minutes later, Chhetri added another. Rino Anto's cross was headed away by the Kitchee defence, but the skipper smashed it home on the volley.

The Hong Kong club clawed its way back, Paramo Jorge sneaked past the BFC back-line and fired a shot past custodian Amrinder Singh. A poor back-pass by Kitchee's Kwesi then allowed Lalhlimpuia to intercept the ball and give BFC a 3-2 lead.

Both sides attacked with vigour, but it was BFC which created the better chances. Poor finishing, however, denied BFC the chance to extend the advantage.

The result:BFC 3 (Sunil Chhetri 31', 33', Daniel Lalhlimpuia 51') bt Kitchee SC 2 (Rufino Del Burgo 7', Paramo Jordi 42').