SC East Bengal held their ground even after being reduced to ten men, and somehow salvaged one point tonight. The Kolkata Club managed a 1-1 draw against the mighty Gaurs at the 50th match of the Indian Soccer league today.
This draw helped SC East Bengal to move one step ahead. They are now at the 9th spot with 7 points from 9 matches, while FC Goa remained at the third place, with 15 points from 10 matches.
The Red and Gold brigade started with a fresh mind and spirit, as they were inspired from their win in the last match against Odisha FC. However, only within the 4 minutes of the start at the Tilak Stadium, Debojit Maumdar produced a thriller of a save. James Donachie pulled a fine header from the free-kick of Brandon Fernandes, but Debojit pulled off a great save.
Soon, Sc East Bengal also created their chances with a counter-attack from Ville Matti Steinmann. A combination from Bright Enobakhare and Ankit Mukherjee created a nice opportunity but in the end it was to no avail, with a successful intercept from the Goan left-backs.
Debojit again became the saviour for the Red and Golds when he saved a long-range attempt from Jorge Ortiz Mendoza in the 36th minute. Just after that, he blocked another shot from Saviour Gama in the 39th minutes. Raju Gaikwad also intercepted once while Aaron Amadi-Holloway missed two chances.
At half-time, the score remained 0-0. The Gaurs had the lion’s share of the ball possession, while the Kolkata club created the majority of chances in front of the goal.
The tempers were rising on both sides as a goal was yet to be seen. Danny Fox got involved with Alexander Romario in a tussle and was sent off with a red card in the 56th minute.
Against the play, SC East Bengal got the lead when Bright Enobakhare scored in the 79th minute. Jacques Maghoma arranged a nice assist from a long throw by Debojit. From that, Bright went past three Goan defenders and found the net quite easily.
Yet, the match was far from over. Just a few minutes after that, Devendra Murugaonkar scored the equaliser. A simple head to the measured cross from Saviour Gama did the job for the Gaurs in the 81st minute,
In the remaining time, there was no lack of chances, but in the end, the match was drawn with the 1-1 when the final whistle blew.
Bright Enobakhare was deservingly the “hero of the match”. It was only his second time on the ISL field, but his 42 touches and 6 successful dribbles were enough to create trouble for FC Goa.
A win would have been great for the Red & Golds. However, they will be happy with the scoreline as they had to play with 10 players for almost half an hour. The Gaurs will be disappointed to let go of a chance like that. Next match is going to be vital for East Bengal, who will face Bengaluru FC, who had a string of losses. FC goa is going against Jamshedpur FC on 14th January.
