Bhubaneswar: Odisha FC vaulted to the top of ISL-9 standings with their second straight home win at the Kalinga Stadium.
Nandhakumar’s 33rd-minute strike turned out to be the decisive goal as the Juggernauts beat Bengaluru FC 1-0 to take their tally to 9 points from 4 matches.
Having launched their campaign with a thrilling, come-from-behind 3-2 win at Jamshedpur, Odisha FC went down in a closely-fought encounter at Mumbai. Back home after 982 days, Josep Gombau’s men have now beaten Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC in the space of four days.
Sahil Panwar’s corner just past the half-hour mark fell for Nandhakumar just outside the box, and the latter blasted home past Gurpreet Sandhu.
Bengaluru had their chances to level scores but the hosts’ defence and custodian Amrinder Singh stood firm to ensure Odisha FC’s first clean sheet of the season.
Odisha FC’s next match is on the road, against Hyderabad FC on November 5.
