It was a do or die match and Bashundhara Kings picked up a great victory against Gokulam Kerala in such an equation match. This victory kept the hopes of Oscar Bruzon's disciples alive in the next round.
The Bangladesh champions defeated Indian club Gokulam Kerala 2-1 in the AFC Cup match at Salt Lake in Kolkata on Tuesday. Robson Robinho and Nuha Marang scored for the Kings.
Bashundhara Kings are at the top of Group 'D' with 2 wins in 3 matches with 6 points and 1 loss.
From the beginning of the game, Kings kept Gokulam under pressure. Although some opportunities were created, the finishing was not going well. Defender Douba Aminu blocked Sohail Rana's quick shot from outside the box in the 15th minute.
Then, in the 23rd minute, Miguel's effort went wide of the post. Four minutes later, Robinho's shot was cut off by two defenders from Kerala, who entered the box from the left edge, and was pushed out by the goalkeeper Rakshit Dagar with the touch of his hand.
Finally, in the 36th minute, Kings got the desired goal from Robinho. The Brazilian forward finds the net in the far post with a curved shot of the right foot from the corner of the box. After five minutes, Robinho shook the defence of Kerala again but this time he could not keep the shot on target.
In the 54th minute, Kings increased the goal margin with Robinho and Nuhar's great chemistry. From the left end, Noah jumped on Robinho's measured cross and headed the ball in the net. Kerala reduced the gap in the 85th minute. Fletcher took control of the ball in front of a six-yard box on Jasim's cross from the right edge and found the net with a right-footed shot. Gokulam couldn't equalize in the 90th minute when Fletcher took a shot from about 30 yards out and hit the crossbar.