The 2014–15 season was Bengaluru FC's second season in the I-League since its establishment in 2013. This season was the first season that Bengaluru FC competed in Asian competition.
Bengaluru began the season as the defending champions, but could not defend the title as they could manage only a draw in the last game against the winners Mohun Bagan, but the club had the longest unbeaten run (13 games).
In continental cups, they lost in the first round of the 2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off and then participated in group stage of the AFC Cup, where they reached Round of 16.
In domestic cups, Bengaluru FC started the season with the 2014 Durand Cup where they lost in semi-finals to Salgaocar on penalties. Bengaluru FC also participated in Federation Cup. They finished the tournament as champions after defeating Dempo in the final 2–1.
22 different players represented the club in five different competitions and there were 13 different goal scorers. Sunil Chhetri was Bengaluru's top scorer with 14 goals in 36 appearances.
Background
Bengaluru FC was unveiled on 21 July 2013 and played their first season in 2013–14. After playing their first ever game against Mohun Bagan on 22 September 2013, Bengaluru FC won the 2013–14 I-League when they defeated Dempo 4–2 on 21 April 2014 and created the history by being the first team to win I-League in its debut year.
In July 2014, Bengaluru signed a deal with Puma as their official kit sponsors from the 2014–15 season. This season Bengaluru also moved from Bangalore Football Stadium to Sree Kanteerava Stadium due to rebuilding of the old stadium for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. As the winner of 2013–14 I-League, Bengaluru competed at Asian competitions, for the first time.
Transfers Bengaluru FC began signing players for the 2014–15 season as early as April when they signed Tata Football Academy graduate Udanta Singh. Bengaluru FC also released veteran mid-fielder Johnny Menyongar at the end of previous season. Bengaluru FC signed Josh Walker as their marquee player. On 15 July 2014, Bengaluru announced they signed two more players, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Lalchhuan Mawia. Over the summer, Bengaluru also signed Shillong Lajong goalkeeper Lalthuammawia Ralte.
In No.PositionPlayerSigned fromDateRef 10 Josh Walker Gateshead7 July 2014 14 Eugeneson Lyngdoh Rangdajied United15 July 2014 21 Udanta Singh Tata Football Academy19 April 2014 23 Lalchhuan Mawia Shillong Lajong15 July 2014 28 Lalthuammawia Ralte Shillong LajongSummer 2014 32 Shilton D'SilvaFree AgentSummer 2014
Out No.PositionPlayerTeamDateRef10 Johnny MenyongarReleased30 April 201414 Sampath Kuttymani MumbaiSummer 201422 Bruno Colaço DempoSummer 201423 Lalrozama Fanai AizawlSummer 201425 Niroshan Mani Students UnionSummer 201426 Thomas Lalengkima AizawlSummer 201427 Amoes MumbaiSummer 201428 Don Bosco AndrewReleasedSummer 2014 Randhan MeiteiReleasedSummer 2014
Loan out
No.PositionPlayerOn Loan toDateRef 32 Shilton D'Silva MumbaiMarch 2015
Pre-season and friendlies
Bengaluru FC played two friendlies against Salgaocar and Pune in August 2014 at Duler Stadium, Goa. Bengaluru won the first game against Salgaocar through a solo goal from Curtis Osano in the first half. The second friendly against Pune ended in 1–1 draw after Robin Singh scored a goal in the first half. Bengaluru then toured China and Hong Kong for further pre-season friendlies. In the first game of the tour, Bengaluru registered 0–1 win against Guangdong Sunray Cave, courtesy of an 87th-minute goal from Malemngamba Meetei. In the second game against Eastern AA, Bengaluru failed to score a goal and lost 0–2. In the final game of the tour, Bengaluru played Guangzhou R&F and faced another defeat 0–3.
Bengaluru FC also participated in the local tournament, Puttaiah Memorial Cup, which they won by defeating ASC 8–1 in the final.
Competitions
Overall
Competition Started round Final position First match Last match Durand Cup Quarter-finals Semi-finals 30 October 2014 6 November 2014 Federation Cup Group stageWinners 28 December 2014 11 January 2015 I-League — 2nd 17 January 2015 31 May 2015 AFC Champions League Qualifying Qualifying 4 February 2015 AFC Cup Group stage Round of 16 24 February 2015 26 May 2015 Last Updated: 31 May 2015 Source : Competitions
Overview
I-League
Summary
January Bengaluru began the defense of the I-League title on 17 January 2015 against Dempo. Bengaluru had the chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty in 44th minute but Sunil Chhetri could not convert to chance. The match eventually ended in a goal-less draw. The next match for Bengaluru FC was worse as they went down to Pune 1–3 in their next home game. Pune took an early 0–2 lead through Darko Nikac and Luciano Sabrosa. Pune furthered their advantage in the 82nd minute when Thongkhosiem Haokip connected well with Yumnam Raju's cross for the ball to bounce beyond the goal-line after rattling the crossbar. In the closing minutes, Bengaluru pulled one back when Eugeneson Lyngdoh scored a goal with the assist from Sean Rooney. In their next game against East Bengal, Bengaluru could not find the back of the net, in spite of dominating in the first half and creating multiple chances. In the second half, Abhinas Ruidas scored a goal for East Bengal against the run of play while Bengaluru continued to miss chances and thus game ended 1–0 in favour of East Bengal and Bengaluru's winless streak was extended to three games. However, Bengaluru finally secured the first win of the season in the away game against newly promoted, and then table toppers, Royal Wahingdoh with a dominant 4–0 win. Thoi Singh scored a brace, while Eugeneson Lyngdoh and C.K. Vineeth scored a goal each.
February In February, Bengaluru played against newly inducted team from Pune, Bharat FC. The only goal of the match was scored by Eugeneson Lyngdoh in 78th minute as Bengaluru won their second game of the season, 1–0. During their next match against Shillong Lajong, Bengaluru took an early lead when Robin Singh converted the cross from Shankar Sampingiraj with a header. Towards the end of first half Bengaluru were down to 10 men when Curtis Osano was sent-off for a dangerous challenge on Cornell Glenn, but Bengaluru continued to attack and doubled the lead through Thoi Singh's header from a Eugeneson Lyngdoh's cross. That victory meant that Bengaluru won their third consecutive game and rose to second in the I-League table. On 20 February, in the away game against Mohun Bagan, the team started well when Sunil Chhetri scored his first goal of season in the league in 8th minute, but Bengaluru unfolded quickly and conceded 4 goals which included a brace from Sony Norde, owing to blunders from the Bengaluru goalkeeper and poor defense overall. Bengaluru bounced back to win the next game 3–1 against Sporting Clube de Goa with a brace from Sean Rooney and a goal from Beikhokhei Beingaichho, both scoring their first goals in the league.
March Bengaluru began March with an away game against Mumbai. After persistent attack from both sides, Bengaluru scored first when Eugeneson Lyngdoh curled a shot into the far corner. Mumbai equalized quickly in the second half via Josimar. Bengaluru created chances late in the game, but man of the match, Mumbai goalkeeper Nidhin Lal, saved all the attempts and both teams eventually shared a point. After the mid-season break, Bengaluru played the away game against Salgaocar. The game also marked the return of top players of Bengaluru, who were away for the national duty. Bengaluru enjoyed a lion share of possession, but could not convert any chances in the first half and the game remained goalless. Robin Singh finally broke the deadlock with a pass from Rino Anto. Salgaocar had the chance to equalize when they were awarded penalty, but man of the match Lalthuammawia Ralte, correctly guessed the direction and saved the penalty to secure 3 points for Bengaluru. Bengaluru ended the March on a high note with a convincing 4–1 victory at home against Sporting Clube de Goa. Bengaluru took the lead in the first half when Josh Walker's header converted a pass from Eugeneson Lyngdoh in a goal. Rino Anto, Thoi Singh, and Beikhokhei Beingaichho scored a goal each in the second half. Sporting Goa's multiple attacks, especially from Odafe Onyeka Okolie, were thwarted by man of the match Lalthuammawia Ralte.
April In April, Bengaluru played the home game against Royal Wahingdoh. The game saw flurry of goals with Robin Singh, Shankar Sampingiraj, Josh Walker countering three goals by the visiting team and the game ended at 3–3. Before the next game against Mumbai, Bengaluru were trailing by 3 points to the table topper Mohun Bagan, in spite of having played 2 more games, so it was a crucial match for Bengaluru to stay in the title hunt, but the game turned out to be 4th consecutive draw between the two sides. In spite of continuous attack by Bengaluru, the first half remained goalless. In the second half, against the run of the play, Rahul Bheke scored the goal for visitors to take the lead in 67th minute. Bengaluru intensified the attack and Robin Singh equalized in the closing minutes before he was sent-off. The next game for Bengaluru was another top of the table clash with Pune F.C. Bengaluru quickly got ahead when Shankar Sampingiraj scored the fastest goal of the season and the second fastest I-League goal of all time, in 15 seconds. Bengaluru doubled the lead just before half-time when C.K. Vineeth scored a goal from Beikhokhei Beingaichho's pass and Bengaluru scored their first ever win against Pune team. In three days, Bengaluru faced another Pune based team Bharat FC. Facing the depleted time, Bengaluru easily won the game 2–0 with goals from Eugeneson Lyngdoh and C.K. Vineeth in each half respectively, with both the assists coming from Sean Rooney.
May
May started with home fixture against East Bengal. Bengaluru had never registered a win against East Bengal in previous five encounters across various tournaments. Though East Bengal started on attacking note, It was Bengaluru who came out on top as Sean Rooney, Sunil Chhetri and Robin Singh scored a goal each and man of the match Lalthuammawia Ralte maintained a clean-sheet in the game and Bengaluru secured its first win against East Bengal. Bengaluru then travelled to Shillong, where a win against Shillong Lajong could put them on the top of the table. After taking the lead towards the end of the first half through Sean Rooney's goal, Bengaluru could not hold on to the lead and conceded a penalty in 65th minute and the game ended in 1–1 draw. After facing defeat against Persipura Jayapura in the AFC cup, Bengaluru returned to form against Salgaocar when they registered 3–1 win. After leading in the first half by 26th-minute goal from Thoi Singh, Bengaluru faced equalizer from Darryl Duffy, but Eugeneson Lyngdoh quickly restored the lead. Man of the match Curtis Osano scored his first goal ever for the team in 80th minute and got on the scoresheet for the victory. In the last away game of the season, Bengaluru played against Dempo. Bengaluru took the lead through Robin Singh's goal, but could not hold on to the lead as Uttam Rai scored one back and the match ended at 1–1 with Bengaluru trailing the table toppers, Mohun Bagan by 2 points. In the final home game against Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru needed an outright win to defend the title. Bengaluru looked on course to defend the title when John Johnson scored his first goal of the season with a header, from Rino Anto's cross, but Mohun Bagan defender Bello Razaq scored the equalizer in 87th minute. Bengaluru's subsequent attack could not find the winner and they conceded the title to Mohun Bagan, though Bengaluru ended the season with the longest unbeaten run of 13 games, equalizing the record set by East Bengal in 2010–11 season.