It was exactly 50 days ago that Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca had made a bold gambit in an I-League match away to Mohun Bagan. With chances of his club retaining their league title only mathematical by then, he chose to keep his big guns fresh ahead of an away AFC Cup game three days later, resting Sunil Chhetri, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Harmanjot Khabra in a match where Bagan were eager to win and stay in the title chase. Bengaluru lost that match 3-0, but went on to win six on the bounce.
Sunday's final was another tricky test for them against a familiar foe. With Chhetri out through injury, and Australian midfielder Cameron Watson suspended, Bengaluru missed their two most experienced and calm links to attack and defence, respectively.
Since taking over from Ashley Westwood last year, Roca has tried imprinting his own style on the team, bringing about a philosophy of control and possession.
That philosophy has worked in patches this season, but keeping control of the match against one of the best attacks in Indian football in Sony Norde, Katsumi Yusa, Balwant Singh and Darryl Duffy was always going to be an onerous task.
Yet, a young Bengaluru stuck to their task right from kick-off on Sunday night. Seiminlen Doungel, Alwyn George and Udanta Singh were part of an attacking triad that had rarely played together this season. Khabra was propped up to support the attack from the right, and Sandesh Jhingan was offered the same license to the left. Lenny Rodrigues was keeping it tight at the back and that enabled Lyngdoh to get involved in a lot of the attacking play.
The intent in Bengaluru's play was apparent from the outset, but like on a few occasions this season, they lacked the finishing touch for much of the game. The couple of times they did nestle the ball inside the net, the offside flag would deny them either side of half-time.
It was a night when a visibly tired Mohun Bagan also gave a very good account of themselves. Outplayed for most of the first half-hour, they picked themselves up and put in some exceptional energy along the flanks. Their commitment on the night was summed up when substitute Jeje Lalpekhlua put in an inch-perfect tackle just on the edge of the Bagan penalty box to snatch the ball away from Jhingan and put it out for a corner.
Bengaluru found a hero in CK Vineeth, who took his time to warm up to the task of super-sub that he had made a habit of excelling in last November with Kerala Blasters, having dragged them to the Indian Super League (ISL) final. Perhaps it was down to the fact that he just turned 29 on Saturday evening, or maybe it was just another day of near-misses for Roca's team.
Vineeth has this fantastic knack of getting goals in clutches, and in critical matches for club and country. He brought that to the fore in dramatic fashion on Sunday evening, thus bringing Mohun Bagan's 10-match unbeaten streak in the Federation Cup to an end.
Bengaluru have a fourth title in four seasons, and they have also picked up an invitation to bid document for the fourth season of the ISL, implying an inclination to host ISL games in Bengaluru in the 2017-18 season. The status of that season is still up in the air, with speculations of restructuring rife, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) confirming to ESPN that discussions on the recognition of ISL as an official league and a qualifier for AFC competition are still "ongoing."
If this is to be their final act as a domestic club in the traditional I-League and Federation Cup format of Indian domestic football, though, Bengaluru can hold their heads high for the effort they put in on Sunday night, against an adversary that has been their undoing on several stages across the last four years.
The season isn't over yet -- Bengaluru are in the AFC Cup for 2018, but have a chance for advancing in the 2017 edition itself. They play Maziya of Maldives on May 31 at home in a must-win match to occupy top spot in the group stages, the only way to play the knockout stages this year of a tournament they lost the final of in 2016.
May 31, 2017 will also be exactly two years to the day that Bagan left Bengaluru fans heartbroken in a season finale of the league with a late equaliser.
Having shown their character against the same opposition this Sunday, expect Bengaluru to front up and give nothing less than their best to banish any memories of that rain-soaked night at the Kanteerava, on route to keeping the Asian dream alive.