Odisha FC won their first silverware as they beat Bengaluru FC 2-1 to lift the Super Cup title on Tuesday. Clifford Miranda's side rode on Diego Mauricio's brace to defeat Bengaluru FC at the EMS Stadium in Kozhikode.
Bengaluru FC made one change to the side that started the semifinal as Jayesh Rane replaced the injured Javi Hernandez. Odisha remained unchanged from their last-four win over NorthEast United.
Odisha took the lead in the 23rd minute when Mauricio's free-kick slipped through Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's grasp and trickled over the line. Bengaluru nearly found the equalizer just before the half-hour mark when Rane released Udanta Singh on the right, but the latter's cross was whisked wide of the target by Sunil Chhetri.
Feast on these 📸 @OdishaFC fans! #BFCOFC ⚔️ #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/yvbHPojEov
- Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) April 25, 2023
Mauricio doubled Odisha's lead, against the run of play, in the 38th minute. Having slipped past his marker in the box, the Brazilian found the back of the net from close-range after Jerry Mawihmingthanga nodded the ball down into a dangerous area.
Bengaluru coach Simon Grayson made a quadruple substitution at the start of the second 45, bringing on Prabir Das, Aleksandar Jovanovic, Sivasakthi Narayan and Pablo Perez in place of Udanta, Rohit Kumar, Jayesh and Namgyal Bhutia.
The fresh legs helped Bengaluru's quest to reduce the deficit and they came close to doing so, once again through Chhetri, when the skipper rose highest to get his head to a corner, but his attempt was off-target.
Bengaluru's relentless pressure paid dividends at the very end when Sivasakthi was brought down by Aniket Jadhav in the box. Chhetri stepped up and sent Amrinder the wrong way to halve the deficit in the 89th minute.
Chhetri and co made one last push in the final minute as Sandesh Jhingan got his head to a cross from Suresh Wangjam, but the defender saw his effort go wide and Odisha hang on to seal their triumph.