I-League title holders Bengaluru FC's faint title hopes were rescinded by a rampant Mohun Bagan side, who helped themselves to a 3-0 win over the Blues at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium in the Bengal capital of Kolkata.
A Darryl Duffy header sandwiched between two Katsumi Yusa strikes all but sealed the tie in favour of the Maroon and Green Brigade, who moved to four points behind leaders Aizwl FC with a game in hand. Bengaluru FC on the other hand remained swivelling in 5th place.
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Only one win in 11 league games effectively ended all hopes of even fighting out for a place in the top two for the team from the Garden City. Head coach Albert Roca shouldered all the blame after the game.
"I took the risk of fielding the side today. It was a young one and it is my fault," lamented the former Barcelona assistant coach, in the post-match interaction.
The Spanish coach had already said on the eve of the game that he would chose to give a rest to his stalwarts in order to keep them fresh for the trip to face Maziya S&RC in the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Cup in the Maldives, on Tuesday 4th April.
"We are focusing on the AFC Cup now. That is why we chose younger players and the likes of Sunil Chhetri and Eugeneson Lyngdoh were rested for this game. We fielded a young side and Mohun Bagan made us pay for that," Roca commented.
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Bengaluru FC CEO Parth Jindal took to social media yet again to reflect on his side's abysmal performance against the Kolkata giants.
Well played @Mohun_BaganAC - a deserved victory - much to improve upon @bengalurufc - disappointing day in the office
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) April 1, 2017
Aizawl FC coach Khalid Jamil was in the stands to keep and eye on the Blues as they travel to Bengaluru next Sunday.