Bengaluru FC's AFC Cup quarter-final tie against Singapore's Tampines Rovers is actually balanced on a knife edge after CK Vineeth's seventh minute strike on Wednesday was enough to earn the home team a slender 1-0 lead heading into the second leg.

New coach Albert Roca reiterated that BFC could not rely to sit back on their lead in the return leg in Singapore a week later, hinting that the Blues would try to score one more in the away leg.

"My style is not winning 1-0, I would prefer it if we had won 5-4 instead. I am satisfied with the result and the performance given the strange conditions – no fans. However, we have to be brave in Singapore. They will attack us as they have nothing to lose and are down by one goal. We will also need to be lucky. If we score, then our chances of winning go up," said Roca at the post-match press conference.

Defend with the ball, not without it

Roca clearly mentioned that the plan had been to play the ball out from the back, rather than hoof it long. His possession-based approach involved the high press, which the Bengaluru strikers were successful in doing.

"The plan is to defend with the ball, not without it. My idea of football has to be accepted. Some of the players were tired but even in the last 20 minutes, they tried to pass the ball out from the back," emphasised Roca on the style of play that Bengaluru FC had adopted for this match.

Bengaluru had been successful in doing just that. The centre-backs, John Johnson and Juan Antonio had been comfortable on the ball and had looked to play it out every time, even in the dying stages of the match.

While not in possession, the Blues adopted a high-pressing strategy which they used to good effect, with Sunil Chhetri and CK Vineeth starting the press from the forward line.

The Rovers coach Akbar Navas also praised the home team's aggressive tactics. "We started slowly but take nothing away from Bengaluru FC. They pressed well and they played better. I'm not pleased with us losing the ball in the midfield," was Navas's assessment of his team's shortcomings on the day.

"Maybe we underestimated them"

"You can't start slowly and then play well and expect to win the match. Maybe we underestimated them. It's fortunate that it's a 1-0 scoreline. You grab a goal and suddenly, it's a draw again. Anything can happen. There is no use sitting back in the second leg," said Navas, while admitting that the Tampines were simply not good enough and have to put in more effort in the second leg.

Navas was right. After kicking off in an empty stadium, the Bengaluru players did not give the opposition a moment's peace, snapping at their heels, unsettling their rhythm and disrupting the opposition's passing play very successfully.

The goal came early when Chhetri showed good ball skills in the middle, carving some space out for himself while fighting to keep the ball and released it beautifully to Alwyn George on the right. The Rovers keeper Mohamad Izwan bin Mahbud rushed out only for George to square the ball for Vineeth, who smashed the ball in from close range.

After conceding a goal, it was more bad news for the visitors who lost their captain, Mustafic Fahruddin, to a thigh strain. Navas told the media that the 35-year-old Fahruddin would struggle to make it back for the second leg. "At his age, it's difficult to recover and it is highly doubtful that he will make it back for the second leg in time," said Navas.

Eugeneson Lyngdoh almost made it two after drawing a save from Mahbud. Rino Anto, with some space on the right, crossed the ball into the box where Chhetri chested the ball to Lyngdoh, who would have made it 2-0 but for the alertness of Mahbud who rushed off his line just in time.

Rovers's big three flop while BFC's foreign contingent shines

Coming into the match, much was written about Rovers's front three – easily one of the best in the competition: former Arsenal and Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant, burly striker Billy Mehmet, and the silky Jordan Webb.

Pennant, possibly the most well-known among them, was disappointing with his passes and his dead-ball delivery. Mehmet tried to be physical, but was well-marshalled by the Bengaluru centre backs.

Webb was the most lively of the three and looked to be the one to break his side's monotony as he ran menacingly with the ball towards Nishu Kumar. The 19-year old Indian left-back had a tough battle with Webb all afternoon before being substituted for the more experienced Lalchhuanmawia Fanai.

The plan for the home team was to stifle the creativity of the opposition forwards from the very beginning and Roca acknowledged this. "We have tried to prevent them from scoring. We have not allowed them to be comfortable."

A big part of the credit goes to the two foreign centre-backs, Johnson and Antonio, who were superb and on top of the opposition. Sitting right in front of the defence were Cameron Watson and Alvaro Rubio, the two midfielders running the show from the deep.

The 37-year old ex-Valladolid midfielder Rubio, in particular, was outstanding and was the best player on the pitch as he ran proceedings from the outset and proved to be an important link between midfield and defence as he helped to carry the ball away from the Bengaluru FC box.

Interestingly poised for the second leg

Although Bengaluru custodian Amarinder Singh was a spectator for large stretches, Tampines showed glimpses of their quality in the second half and forced the defence to take evasive action on more than one occasion.

Bengaluru were under siege for a small part of the second half and had struggled to retain the ball in this brief period. They almost played a perfect defensive game, but will still have to be careful in the second leg.

Jordan Webb in particular, showed that he is the danger man as far as the Blues are concerned and Bengaluru will have to keep a close watch on him in the second half.

Another positive for BFC will be the return of Udanta Singh from injury. Udanta replaced Alwyn George midway through the second half and looked fast and nippy as he tried to push forward a tiring home team. It will be interesting to see if he starts the second leg or makes a similar cameo appearance coming off the bench.

Both coaches have stated that they will be on the offensive during the second leg on Wednesday. Bengaluru FC will be happy with the result, although they will feel that they were wasteful and should have put the tie to bed at home. They are still only one goal ahead and could seal the tie if they score one more goal, which will mean that Tampines will have to score three to progress.