Two sides still to get going this campaign – Bengaluru FC and East Bengal FC – met each other at the Tilak Maidan on Tuesday night to play out a 1-1 draw. The stalemate left EBFC rooted to the bottom of the table and BFC in 8th.
Interim head coach Renedy Singh took his place in the East Bengal dugout, hoping to change the fortunes of his side in the short term. The Red and Gold Brigade had been without a win in the 2021/22 Indian Super League season, and that would remain as it was after their Tuesday night clash with a similarly struggling Bengaluru FC.
Bengaluru dominated proceedings -they had more than double the possession and shots at goal than their opponents – but it was East Bengal that looked the livelier of the two in the opening exchanges.
A mistake by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu wasn’t capitalized upon by the EBFC attackers during the early phase. Minutes later, Lalrinliana Hnamte and Thongkhosiem Haokip got in each other’s way, wasting a potentially advantageous break for their side.
Haokip made up for his early error by giving EB the lead in the 28th minute. The midfielder headed in a set-piece delivery from the right flank – the set-piece which he had won himself moments earlier. At the other end, a chance for a Bengaluru equalizer went begging as Alan Costa headed over a Cleiton Silva delivery from a corner from close range.
Furthermore, just before the interval, Daniel Chukwu failed to get a clear connection to a Hnamte pass inside the six-yard area, preventing East Bengal from taking a two-goal lead into the break.
Chukwu’s miss proved costly for the Red and Gold Brigade on the other side of the interval when Bengaluru equalized. A cross from the right from Naorem Roshan Singh was diverted past his goalkeeper, inadvertently, by an unfortunate Sourav Das.
Roshan, meanwhile, nearly created the winning goal for Bengaluru when he laid the ball on a plate for Sunil Chhetri with a cut-back from the left, only for Hira Mondal to block Chhetri’s effort on the line.
The draw left East Bengal without a win from their first nine games of the 2021/22 campaign. Bengaluru, meanwhile, aren’t doing that better themselves; the Blues are just five points above in eighth, having played one game more.
