Ozone FC Bengaluru 1 FC Kerala 0: Son shines bright to send Ozone top in 2nd division I-League

Bengaluru, April 30: A contentious penalty converted by Yongchan Son gave Ozone FC a 1-0 win over FC Kerala and sent them to the top of the standings of Group B in the second division I-League at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Monday (April 30).

Ozone striker CS Sabeeth went down to a soft tackle by Subhankar Adhikari in the beginning of the second half and referee Umesh Bora immediately pointed to the spot.

Big win over Madhya Bharat" title="Ozone represents Bengaluru | Big win over Madhya Bharat" />Ozone represents Bengaluru | Big win over Madhya Bharat

Son, who was one of the two penalty-takers decided in a pre-match discussion with coach David Booth, slotted it to the right corner, beating the diving Ahamad Asfar.

"Do you think it's a soft penalty? I don't think it was a penalty at all," FC Kerala coach TG Purushothaman said after the match. "What do I tell these boys after such a loss? It's disheartening. There was no foul at all. But I believe we can turn it around in the league and go all out in the remaining games. We will also try to be the best second-placed team so that we can make it to the playoffs."

The result moved Ozone to 17 points in seven games, sending them one clear of Kerala, who have played a game more.

"Being the top of the table means nothing to me right now," Ozone coach David Booth said after the match. "All I am concerned now are the three points from this match and the three points we have to fetch from the next game against Fateh Hyderabad on May 5. We'll go with a similar mindset to that game but we can't afford to miss so many chances like we did today. We had at least four clear goalscoring chances in the first half. But I can't complain because we have not conceded in six games and the defender Chika Wali and goalkeeper Abhishek Das were excellent today."

In a first 45 minutes played under rainy conditions, Ozone were more dominant. Sabeeth and Vignesh D maintainted high pressure and Ozone enjoyed more possession of the ball. Kerala tried to score by playing long balls to their striker but Ozone defenders were right by the side of their men.

Attacking midfielder Anto Xavier had an easy chance to put Ozone ahead in the eight minute of the match after Adhikari failed to clear the ball. Asfar was there to glove it away. Wali and Ozone captain Vignesh G hit the crossbar with the latter's shot kissing the inside of the post.

That apart, Sabeeth missed an open chance four minutes before the stroke of half-time. Minutes after Ozone scored, Sabeeth had another opportunity to double his team's lead. Xavier flicked the ball to Vignesh, who played a brilliant cross to Sabeeth at the centre of the box. Sabeeth tried to flick it in but instead struck it wide off the goal.

Ozone survived a scare towards the end of the game. Wali pulled off twin blocks and Das made up for a goalline fumble with two quick saves to secure the three points for Ozone.