Chhetri leads the way for BFC

On the rampage: BFC skipper Sunil Chhetri was simply unstoppable against Neroca FC.

On the rampage: BFC skipper Sunil Chhetri was simply unstoppable against Neroca FC.  

Scores a hat-trick in team’s 3-1 win over Neroca in the quarterfinals

Sunil Chhetri performed a hat-trick as Bengaluru FC beat Neroca FC 3-1 to book a semifinal spot in the Super Cup football tournament here on Friday. Pritam Singh pulled one back for Neroca.

Bengaluru will face Mohun Bagan in the semifinal on April 17.

The match started with Bengaluru pressing hard for the lead but the I-League side put up a solid defence to thwart the opposition attacks.

Opportunistic

However, in the 13th minute, a cross from Udanta Singh from the left flank was punched out by Neroca goalkeeper Lalit Thapa, but Chhetri spectacularly headed home off the rebound.

Neroca made a few forays into the BFC box, but the lack of quality crosses coupled with some good saves by Bengaluru goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh denied the team an equaliser.

Neroca, however, struck back in first-half injury time when Gurpreet failed to collect the ball properly and Pritam pounced on the opportunity.

Bengaluru FC pressed hard right from the start of the second half and soon went ahead through captain Chhetri who went on to complete a hat-trick in the dying moments of the match.

The result: Bengaluru FC (Chhetri 13, 55, 90+4) bt Neroca 1 (Pritam Singh 45+3).