Goa :SC East Bengal took 347 days to end their winless run in the Indian Super League.
The Red and Gold brigade registered a victory against FC Goa and inflicted a blow on their semi-final hopes. East Bengal won the match 2-1 at the Athletic Stadium, Bambolim. This was the first win of the season. The win would help SCEB rise from the bottom while the Gaurs remained stuck at ninth place in the points table.
Mahesh Naorem Singh scored early on 9 minutes for SCEB although Alberto Noguera scored on 37 minutes and levelled the score. Naorem Singh’s strike on 42 minute helped him complete his brace after a gift from the opposition defender also the goal remained the difference between the teams.
.@NaoremMahesh capitalises on an error to hand @sc_eastbengal an early goal! 🤩#FCGSCEB #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/FoMpk6adWw
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) January 19, 2022
Despite dominating the possession in the game, FC Goa had to deal with a shock early on in the game. An unforced error from Edu Bedia caught Anwar Ali off-guard, Mahesh Naorem Singh took advantage of the same as he pounced on the ball, and slotted it past the advancing goalkeeper from a one-on-one situation to score the opening goal.
Before the half an hour mark, it was the skipper of the Gaurs,who fed Alexander Jesuraj with a penetrating through ball but the latter wasted the opportunity to equalise as he aired the shot above the crossbar.The Gaurs finally scored the equaliser after Jorge Ortiz’s defence-splitting pass found Alberto Noguera, who found space inside the box and beat the opposition goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharja with his left foot from a narrow angle.
𝒜𝓃 𝓊𝓁𝓉𝒾𝓂𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓈𝓉! 💪
Mahesh Naorem's 2️⃣ goals helped @sc_eastbengal to their first win of the campaign! ⚽#FCGSCEB #HeroISL #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/AJ45y14Ddp
— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) January 19, 2022
Although the relief was not long lived as three minutes before halftime, Naorem Singh gave SCEB their lead back as it was Anwar Ali yet again who gifted the ball to him inside his own box. Although the striker’s attempt struck the bar and came out, but the assistant referee awarded the goal as the ball had crossed the goal line.
The second half saw FCG intensely searching for another equaliser. However, there were not many clear scoring chances for the Gaurs. The Red & Gold Brigade put up a strong defence show, defending in numbers, denying any sort of space to the opposition attackers.
FC Goa will be next up against Bengaluru FC at the Athletic Stadium on Sunday ( January 23) while SC East Bengal will face Hyderabad FC challenge at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Monday.( January 24).
