Bengaluru FC head coach Simon Grayson was on cloud nine after they defeated Mumbai City FC on penalties 9-8 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday. The second leg semifinal ended in 2-1 (2-2 on aggregate) in favor of Mumbai City FC.
However, it was the Blues who had the final laugh in the match. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was beaten two times during regulation time after goals from Bipin Singh and Mehtab Singh, was able to save a penalty.
Javi Hernandez had earlier scored in the 22nd minute to give a 2-0 advantage to the Blues.
However, Mehtab Singh could not score from the spot kick against the experienced goalkeeper whereas Sandesh Jhinghan converted his chance to help the Blues qualify for the finals.
Bengaluru FC has been able to turn the corner in the second phase of the tournament and they were able to seal their final’s berth.
“We started well and then we conceded the penalty which could have rocked us, but we said that if anything goes against us we stay mentally strong. All the defenders defended well, midfield players worked extremely hard. Overall, I thought it was a really good game. Both teams were trying to win it and played some good football. The goalkeepers made some good saves. And then it came down to the penalty shootouts where somebody is going to be a hero and somebody is going to be a villain. Fortunately for us, it went our way,” Grayson said after the match.
“We had to be at our best against a strong Mumbai City FC team as they have some talented players in that team,” he added.
The Englishman revealed he is delighted with the performance of his team and also proud of everyone associated with the club.
“We are delighted. We are so pleased for the players because they gave everything tonight. The supporters have not had such nights for a long time. I am so proud of everyone connected with the club,” Grayson said.
“We have come a long way for what we have achieved so far this season from where we took a lot of mental strength and togetherness and we have had that among everybody, not just the coaches and the staff. It’s a fantastic achievement and now we have to go to Goa and try and finish off the job,” he added.
Furthermore, Sandhu saved a penalty from Greg Stewart in the 10th minute to keep his team alive and thus the goalkeeper was the star of the show.
“The penalty save gave us a lift. Gurpreet is a big frame but you expect Greg Stewart to score more often than not. But that save gave us an extra lift. We then scored a great goal through Javi Hernandez. I was disappointed with the two goals that we conceded but that’s just being critical as a coach,” Grayson said.
