With nothing but pride to play for, bottom-dwellers East Bengal and NorthEast United faced up to each other at the Tilak Maidan on Monday night – a game which, as many would’ve expected, ended without a winner.
NorthEast United FC’s 2021/22 Indian Super League season came to an end with a drab draw against East Bengal at the Tilak Maidan on Monday night. The Highlanders finished the league stage with 14 points from 20 games, three ahead of their rivals on the night, albeit the latter has a game in hand remaining against Bengaluru FC.
East Bengal outshot NorthEast United by twice as much and hoarded slightly more territory than their opponents over the 90 minutes. They were the ones with the better of the early chances – after Mirshad Michu saved a shot from distance, Mahesh Singh rattled the crossbar from outside the box, and Antonio Perosevic flashed a volley just wide of the post – but against the run of play, the Highlanders took the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
It, too, was a cheap concession, as VP Suhair’s inswinging cross from the right evaded everyone in the box, bounced back off the far upright, and landed in the path of Marco Sahanek, who drove it home with the East Bengal backline still getting back into their positions.
Deshorn Brown drew a save out of Sankar Roy on the other side of the interval, and minutes later, Michu parried Fran Sota’s free-kick away to safety. But, East Bengal were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute after Fran Sota collapsed under a soft challenge from Patrick Flottmann; Perosevic stepped up to the spot and equalized, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
East Bengal racked up the shot counter from then on; the Red and Gold Brigade created chances for themselves, although none of them were clear-cut, and dissolved into nothing as the ball reached the final third of the pitch. At the other end, the rare openings NorthEast United were able to fashion for themselves fell to Suhair, but he, too, couldn’t make much out of them.
The match finished level, keeping East Bengal rooted to the bottom spot for the time being. NorthEast United, meanwhile, finished their season with 43 goals conceded, one fewer than the all-time worst defensive record in the ISL.
