Odisha FC vs East Bengal FC: Diego Mauricio leads Juggernauts to a crucial victory over the Kolkata giants

Odisha FC have strengthened their bid for a top-six finish in the ISL 2022-23 with a 3-1 victory over East Bengal FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, January 7.

After conceding a goal early on, the Juggernauts, led by a fire-breathing Diego Mauricio, secured a comeback victory.

Both sides opted for a cautious approach, at least in the opening exchanges. But it didn't take the visitors long to pull away. Alex Lima put fellow Brazilian, Cleiton Silva, through on goal down the right flank with a lobbed ball.

The veteran forward seemingly had too much on his hands but custodian Amrinder Singh made Cleiton's task easier with an unnecessary outing. The Brazilian talisman spotted the Odisha FC goalkeeper coming off his line and delightfully chipped it into the back of the net.

However, East Bengal's ecstasy was short-lived. The hosts turned up a gear and started to threaten the opposition's defense on a constant basis. Right in the 12th minute itself, Jerry Mawihmingthanga had an opportunity to restore parity, but managed to drag his effort wide with an open net in front of him.

However, 10 minutes later, the Juggernauts leveled proceedings through Diego Mauricio as East Bengal conceded their ninth set-piece goal of the season. The Brazilian outmuscled his marker before tucking home a Raynier Fernandes corner.

It was end-to-end football post that goal but neither side were able to take the lead. Seemingly, both teams were destined to go into the break on level terms. But right in the dying moments, a freak goal from Nandhakumar Sekar completed the first-half comeback for Odisha FC.

The Indian winger whipped in a cross from the left flank, but the ball curled into the far post, past a stretching Suvam Sen.

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Odisha FC's Diego Mauricio completes his brace in the second half against East Bengal

After the break, Stephen Constantine, realizing the need to respond, took off Mobashir Rahman, who was a mere passenger in the game, and Sumeet Passi was introduced. But nothing could alter the momentum of the game that was going Odisha FC's way.

In the 50th minute, Mauricio doubled his tally for the night and the hosts' lead when he scored past Suvam Sen after being put through by Raynier Fernandes. It looked all too similar for East Bengal as they went 3-1 down after leading by a goal early on.

The visitors continued to hunt for goals but Josep Gombau's men were too resilient to lose their lead. In the dying moments of the second half, however, there was a moment of controversy when Ankit Mukherjee put the ball in the back of the net and the linesman ruled it as offside. However, replays showed that the East Bengal player was well onside.

The loss makes East Bengal's bid to finish in the top six spots a tad bit more difficult. Meanwhile, Odisha FC have finally turned their fortunes around with a crucial home victory.