A brace from Australian striker Daniel McBreen that included a poor penalty decision in the first half, consigned Bengaluru FC to a 0-2 defeat to South China AA and ended the Blues’ run in the AFC Cup at the Mongkok Stadium, in Hong Kong, on Tuesday. Ashley Westwood’s boys put aside the fatigue of a travel delay and seemed in control of things till the dubious decision that led to South China’s opener changed the face of the one-legged pre-quarterfinal played on a soggy pitch.

Bengaluru were dealt a setback on matchday morning when John Johnson failed to make the squad after falling ill, prompting Westwood to hand Gurtej Singh a start alongside Curtis Osano. The gaffer rung in a few more changes from the side that played Dempo SC in the I-League on Saturday, giving Robin Singh, Beikhokhei Beingaichho, Shankar Sampingiraj and Keegan Pereira starts.

The thunderstorms that hit the district all morning meant the surface at the Mongkok was a slippery one to contend with. But just as Bengaluru were getting a grip on the game and the pitch, referee Abdul Al-Jassim dealt them a telling blow with a poor penalty decision. Chasing Mahama Awal in the box, Curtis Osano’s tackle saw him win the ball cleanly before Awal went down. But Al-Jassim pointed to the spot despite protests from an understandably irate bunch of Bengaluru players. McBreen stepped and sent his take past Lalthuammawia Ralte to give the hosts a lead.

But despite the odds against them, Bengaluru seemed the more fluent of the two sides. Eugeneson Lyngdoh had a flash at goal that zipped just wide early in the half while it needed a brilliant save from ’keeper Mora Medrano to keep Sean Rooney’s rasping strike from 25-yards, out as the Blues went into halftime trailing by a goal.

Westwood threw in Sunil Chhetri for Lyngdoh at the start of the half as Bengaluru looked to put behind the setback and build on a solid first half performance. But McBreen threw a spanner in the works, stabbing home Che Runqiu’s cross from close to make it 2-0 in the 58th minute.

Two goals down at the hour mark, Westwood sensed the need to preserve his key players for the I-League title decider against Mohun Bagan, in Bengaluru, on Sunday and pulled off Joshua Walker and Rooney, replacing them with Siam Hanghal and CK Vineeth.

Bengaluru pulled together a string of chances after the double-change, first through Hanghal, who, after turning his marker, took a shot from over 25 yards that sailed wide of Medrano’s far post. Minutes later, a routine free-kick saw Chhetri and Singh exchange passes but the latter’s strike was wide of the South China woodwork. At the other end, Ralte did well to keep out McBreen’s attempt at a hat-trick, diving brilliantly to his left to save the striker’s shot on the turn in the closing stages of the game. Despite frequent forays into the opposition box, the Blues were unable to find the net as South China held on for the 2-0 win.