Durand Cup 2024: Pereyra Diaz goal gives Bengaluru FC win over Kerala Blasters in quarterfinal

Jorge Pereyra Diaz stoppage time goal gave Bengaluru FC a 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters in the Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal.

Bengaluru FC’s Jorge Pereyra Diaz (first from left) celebrates with teammates after scoring a late winner against Kerala Blasters in a Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal match at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Friday, August 23. | Photo Credit: The Hindu/DEBASISH BHADURI

A late goal by Jorge Pereyra Diaz helped Bengaluru FC clinch a thrilling 1-0 victory over Kerala Blasters in the fourth quarterfinal of Durand Cup 2024 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata on Friday.

Bengaluru will now face defending champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the semifinals.

Bengaluru coach Gerard Zaragoza made six changes to its starting lineup, while Kerala Blasters’ coach Mikael Stahre opted for two changes.

The game started on an unfortunate note when Kerala Blasters’ goalkeeper Som Kumar clashed heads with Bengaluru’s Diaz, forcing the Blasters coach to make an early substitution and bring in backup goalkeeper Sachin.

The first-half was a tactical battle, with both sides testing each other’s defences but failing to break the deadlock.

Bengaluru FC dominated possession but despite its control, couldn’t capitalise, managing only one of its six shots on target.

Kerala came close to scoring in the 26th minute, but Blues’ goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stayed alert to deny the effort from Noah Wail Sadaoui.

KBFC vs BFC - AS IT HAPPENED

The second half saw the Blues pushing forward aggressively but were unable to convert their opportunities.

A notable chance came in the 56th minute, but Diaz failed to connect with a cross from Shivaldo. Bengaluru continued to dominate possession, yet its efforts were consistently thwarted by a resilient Kerala defence.

Sunil Chhetri’s introduction in the 67th minute added more pressure on Kerala Blasters, but both teams struggled to find a decisive moment.

In the dying moments of injury time, Bengaluru was awarded a free-kick just outside the box. Chhetri’s attempt was blocked by the wall, leading to a corner. Lalremtluanga Fanai swung a cross inside the box, with the ball falling to Chhetri, who helped it to Diaz at the far-post. Diaz lashed the ball onto the roof of the net from a close distance to break the deadlock in the dying minutes of the match.

With this hard-fought victory, Bengaluru will now prepare to face Mohun Bagan SG in the semifinals, following the Mariner’s 6-5 penalty shootout win over Punjab FC earlier in the day after a 3-3 scoreline in the regulation time.