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Match 57 of I-League saw East Bengal face off against league leaders Minerva Punjab FC at the Barasat District Sports Stadium in Kolkata.
The two sides were involved in a top of the table clash with the league's top side and third-placed team facing each other for the first time this season. Minerva Punjab FC were comfortably placed on the top of the standings with 25 points from their ten matches before this game while East Bengal were on their heels in the title race on the third spot with 19 points from eleven matches.
East Bengal came into the match on the back of three-match winless streak which included the Kolkata derby loss along with two draws away from home. Minerva Punjab FC, on the other hand, were on a four-match winning streak away from home that helped them add steam to their challenge for the I-League title.
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The match was an intensely fought affair and ended in a 2-2 draw as East Bengal came back from 0-2 down to go level at the end. Two goals in the first half from Sukhdev Singh and Chencho Gyeltshen had put the visitors ahead. East Bengal rallied in the second half and got level with goals from Joby Justin and Brandon Vanlalredmika.
#1 Khalid Jamil makes seven changes to the starting lineup
Khalid Jamil's side was winless in their last three games, their last win coming against the young Indian Arrows at the start of the year. The Kolkata side lost the prestigious Kolkata Derby in their last match and had two draws away from home before that against Churchill Brothers and champions Aizawl FC.
In a shakeup of things, Jamil made a major overhaul to the starting lineup for the Red and Golds as he made a total of seven changes.
Luis Barreto, Lalramchullova, Arnab Mondal, Mohamed Rafique, Mahmoud Al Amna, Prakash Sarkar and the current Mohammedan SC player Willis Plaza were kept out by the gaffer. Ubaid CK, Mehtab Singh, Deepak Kumar, Cavin Lobo, Bazie Armand, Laldanmawia Ralte and Joby Justin were introduced in their place as a new-look East Bengal took to the field.
Amna had to miss out due to an injury suffered early on in the derby. East Bengal also had former Bagan striker Ansumana Kromah available on the bench after undergoing a successful trial and signing for the city rivals.
#2 Sukhdev Singh gives Minerva Punjab the early lead
Minerva Punjab FC began the game on a strong note showing no signs of pressure in the away match. They were comfortable on the ball and were organised well defensively to deal with the threat from Cavin Lobo and Katsumi Yusa in the midfield.
Minerva attacked the Kolkata side with good build-up play and used their long throws well with balls into the box to keep the defenders on their toes.Their persistence paid off when Sukhdev Singh, the Minerva defender got them ahead in the match with a sneaky goal.
A corner in the 20th minute was put into the box which was initially cleared by East Bengal defenders but fell to Kamalpreet who controlled the ball and passed it to Sukhdev Singh. The defender took a shot from the right side but it was saved by the keeper Ubaid Khan, however, the rebound fell in the path of Sukhdev and he reached there ahead of Salam Singh to toe-poke it into the goal.
#3 Chencho 'Ronaldo' Gyeltshen doubles the advantage for Minerva
Minerva Punjab FC kept the pressure on East Bengal after taking the lead with their rock-solid defence and good counter-attacking play.
The visitors were rewarded again just 13 minutes after scoring their first goal when Bhutanese import, Chencho Gyeltshen, who is fondly called the 'Bhutanese Ronaldo' got his name on the scoresheet doubling the lead for the Punjab side.
A defensive scramble at the top of the East Bengal box led to Armand Bazie and Eduardo Ferreira clashing into each other. The chaos saw the ball fall into the path of the lethal Chencho who turned and slotted it into the left bottom corner with a calm and composed finish.
#4 Katsumi Yusa misses a spot-kick
The second half began and East Bengal was presented with a great opportunity within five minutes when Laldanmawia Ralte was brought down by Kaseem Aidara just inside the box in the 50th minute. Katsumi Yusa, the designated penalty taker for the Kolkata giants stepped up to take the kick.
However, his effort was saved with a good dive to the right by Minerva Punjab keeper Kiran Chemjong who guessed correctly and denied the Japanese midfielder the chance to get the home side into the match.
About ten minutes, the home side finally got their goal when Joby Justin headed in a corner from Katsumi Yusa. Justin rose the highest and managed to get the ball into the right top corner as he lifted the spirit of the East Bengal footballers in the match.
#5 Brandon Vanlalremdika equalizes late in the match
After Joby Justin's goal at around the hour mark, East Bengal had a spring in their step as they kept attacking Minerva with intensity. Minerva were crowding the defence and making it difficult for the home side to find any gaps.
East Bengal finally got level just two minutes before the end of regulation time when substitute Brandon Vanlalremdika scored.
A cross from Chullova on the right found Katsumi Yusa on the left side of the goal and the Japanese headed the ball into the path of Brandon who hit a low first-time shot. The goal sent the huge crowd gathered at the Barasat into a frenzy.
