Simon Grayson's side were lucky after a NEUFC goal in added time was ruled out for offside.

Simon Grayson's side were lucky after a NEUFC goal in added time was ruled out for offside.

Simon Grayson's side were lucky after a NEUFC goal in added time was ruled out for offside.

Bengaluru: Alan Costa scored a late winner to deliver Bengaluru FC a 1-0 win over NorthEast United in their Indian Super League (ISL) opener on Saturday.

The Brazilian defender headed home from substitute Javier Hernandez's corner in the 87th minute.

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The visitors thought they had equalised in added time with Jon Gaztanaga hammering a shot past Gurpreet Sandhu. However, it was ruled offside.

Bengaluru could have taken the lead in the 78th minute when Udanta Singh had a glorious chance inside the box, but his shot sailed over.

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Shortly after the hour, Sivashakti unselfishly played his skipper Sunil Chhetri through, but the strike fluffed his lines.

Bengaluru had dominated possession in the first half and Chhetri saw a header miss the target. His strike partner Sivashakti too failed to beat the keeper from a Roshan Naorem pull back.