Goa: SC East Bengal were left scratching their hunt for the first victory in the Indian Super League season continued after a 1-1 draw with Kerala Blasters FC at the Tilak Maidan in Goa on Sunday. Tomislav Mrcelau opened the scoring for the Red and Gold brigade while Alvaro Vazquez struck an equalizer for the Tuskers before halftime.
Alvaro Vazquez almost handed Blasters a lead but the referee reversed his decision disallowing the goal as he blew his whistle before the striker had put the ball past the goalkeeper. East Bengal were struggling to chances but surprisingly got their reward for keeping tight against the run of play as defender Tomislav Mrcela found the net with a header getting on the end of a long throw from Raju Gaikwad.
The Tuskers though didn’t chose to back down as well before Vazquez’s right footed shot from outside the box took a wicked deflection found the back of net brought the game back to level terms just before the half-time.
The second-half rather a scratchy as both sides were struggling for momentum in the final third. Despite that, Vazquez was good for Kerala throughout game keeping the opposing defender on their toes. The Spaniard had another opportunity to score when he attempted a long-range which was parried away by the East Bengal goalkeeper Sankar Roy.
Manolo Diaz’s side still haven’t quite found their feet this season which looked evident in their play on the Sunday evening. Kerala could have gained a lead on the stroke of 89th minute after Jorge Diaz headed home a cross into the but his effort was cancelled after it was found that the Argentine seemingly pushed a defender before scoring which both the sides shared the points.
