‘Not good enough,’ fumes Bengaluru FC owner after Inter Kashi knock them out

Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal was furious after his team were knocked out of the Super Cup by I-League club Inter Kashi in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

Kashi won 5-4 in penalty shootout after the game finished 1-1 in regulation time to advance to the quarterfinals. Matija Babovic had scored an 87th-minute equaliser after Ryan Williams' 61st-minute opener for the Indian Super League finalists.

"Absolutely gutted," posted Jindal on social media platform X. "A truly disappointing performance - not good enough by any stretch of imagination. With a spot in Asia up for grabs I expected much more. Need to do a lot of work in the off season but players and the coaching group need to answer for the performance today. Apologies to all the fans."

Bengaluru had suffered a heartbreak in the Indian Super League final, which they lost 1-2 to Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

Goalkeeper Shubham Dhas made a fine save to deny Alberto Noguera from the spot to ensure Kashi's win in shootout. David Humanes Munoz, Bijoy V, Nikola Stojanovic, Aritra Das, and Matija Babovic scored for Kashi, while Ryan Williams, Sunil Chhetri, and Jorge Pereyra Diaz scored their spot-kicks for Bengaluru FC.

Kashi began strongly and nearly took the lead in the 15th minute through Edmund Lalrindika, who hit the upright. He also had a shot placed narrowly wide minutes later. Bengaluru had a glorious chance at the other end, which was missed by Edgar Mendez and Noguera failed to convert the rebound.

A Nikola Stojanovic freekick was kept out by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu at full stretch as Kashi came close early in the second half. It was Bengaluru that took the lead when long ball from Noguera was not cleared and Williams calmly turned into in from a sharp angle.

Kashi went all out in the final minutes, and Vidyasagar Singh missed an opportunity before Babovic grabbed the late equaliser.