Bengaluru FC suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Bangladeshi club Abahani SC in Dhaka on Wednesday. The hosts went down to 10 men but struck two late goals to hand Albert Roca’s men their first defeat in this season’s competition, having made the finals in 2016.

Roca, having rested key players on the weekend, handed starts to Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Sunil Chhetri, CK Vineeth, Cameron Watson and John Johnson. With a 3-5-2 system that saw Harmanjot Khabra and Nishu Kumar deployed as wing-backs, the Blues looked to contain the Abahani attack while pressing for the opener.

Bengaluru were handed a big advantage eleven minutes from time when Mohammad Nasir’s deliberate hand-ball earned the Abahani player his second booking of the game to reduce the hosts to ten men. Looking to make most of the extra man, Roca’s final substitution of the night saw the Spaniard throw in striker Len Doungel for Khabra.

But it was Abahani who landed the killer blow in the 87th minute when Saad Uddin tapped home a cross on the volley to give the hosts a lead that Bengaluru couldn’t do much to erase. The Blues then conceded a second in additional time when goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, high up on the pitch to put the ball back in play from a Bengaluru corner, was robbed off the ball by Rubel Miya who ran a few yards with it before chipping into an empty goal from distance.

Earlier, in the Group’s other game, Maziya S&RC knocked Mohun Bagan out of the completion with a 5-2 result in the Maldives to make the race to the knock-out stages one that goes down to the wire.

Aleksandar Rakic netted a brace for the club from Maldives as they ran riot in Male while Kingshuk Debnath and Jeje Lalpekhlua pulled two goals back for Bagan.

Both teams head off to Cuttack next to start their Federation Cup campaign.