Bengaluru FC Wins ISL Opener: Coach Zaragoza Praises Venkatesh’s Debut Goal
Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza was pleased with the team’s 1-0 victory over East Bengal FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) opener. The match took place at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
Key Moments
Vinith Venkatesh scored the only goal of the match, ensuring Bengaluru FC not only secured three points but also kept a clean sheet. Despite both teams having chances in the second half, Bengaluru FC managed to hold on to their lead.
Coach Zaragoza’s Thoughts
In the post-match press conference, Zaragoza highlighted the importance of starting the season with a win. He acknowledged that while the team dominated for most of the game, there were moments when East Bengal FC, especially after the introduction of Madih Talal, posed a significant threat.
“We could have scored even more goals,” Zaragoza said. “But you cannot give life to the opponent. They are good. They have good players. In the second half, Talal came and played with good individuality. We could have drawn and lost two points when everything was under control, which means that I’m not completely happy. We won and we have three points. We can do better in the next match in five days again here,” he added.
Venkatesh’s Memorable Debut
Local boy Vinith Venkatesh had a memorable ISL debut, scoring the decisive goal. The 19-year-old had previously impressed in the Durand Cup, contributing two goals as Bengaluru FC reached the semi-finals. However, he was substituted at half-time due to an injury.
Zaragoza explained, “He had a good first half, but he’s too young. He has quality, but he needs to improve a lot of things with his body, his movements, and tactically understand the game. We will work with him to make him even better. He was nervous; it was his first match at Kanteerava, playing with people like Sunil Chhetri, Rahul Bheke, and players like this. He was nervous after the ball… then it came to one injury, and we hope it’s not too much. And soon he will be ready to play again.”
Doubts Revealed
Bengaluru FC -: Bengaluru FC is a football (soccer) team based in Bengaluru, India. They play in the Indian Super League (ISL), which is a professional football league in India.
ISL -: ISL stands for Indian Super League. It is a professional football league in India where different teams from various cities compete against each other.
Coach Zaragoza -: Coach Zaragoza refers to Gerard Zaragoza, who is the head coach of Bengaluru FC. A coach is someone who trains and leads a sports team.
Venkatesh -: Venkatesh refers to Vinith Venkatesh, a player for Bengaluru FC. He scored the only goal in the match, which helped his team win.
Debut Goal -: A debut goal is the first goal a player scores in their first match for a team. Vinith Venkatesh scored his first goal in his first match for Bengaluru FC.
Clean Sheet -: A clean sheet means that the team did not allow the opposing team to score any goals. Bengaluru FC did not let East Bengal FC score in this match.
East Bengal FC -: East Bengal FC is another football team in the Indian Super League. They played against Bengaluru FC in this match.
Substituted -: Substituted means that a player was replaced by another player during the game. Vinith Venkatesh was substituted because he got injured.
