Semboi Haokip (28′) opened the scoring with a diving header until Saurav Das (OG 55′) equalized the opposition with his own goal.
ISL 2021-22: House , fixtures , result , Mark sheet , photos
In a nervous start, SC East Bengal goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharja was shown the opening yellow card for fouling Prince Ibarra. At the other end, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu also got off to a poor start as he misjudged a free-kick from deep which went off without a penalty. It took the 18th minute for both sides to create a worthwhile scoring opportunity when Lalrinliana Hanamate’s shot from the edge of the box was blocked by the BFC defence.
Roshan Norem was shown a yellow card for pulling a shirt and a subsequent free-kick caused Semboi Haokip to break the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. He scored with a diving header that left the keeper no chance.
Alan Costa nearly equalized Clayton Silva’s free-kick a few moments later, but his header went slightly over the bar. Marco Pezauoli’s men continued to equalize but fell behind at the halftime break. The restart saw that the strategist sent Sunil Chhetri to change the color of the match.
The equalizer came at the end after a period of sustained pressure by the Blues in the second half. A cross from Roshan’s right edge came from Saurav Das, whose wrong header overtook his own goalkeeper at the near post. Ibarra was a constant threat and had a chance to give BFC the advantage after the hour mark but his header went over the crossbar. BFC were again denied the lead at the 71st-minute mark after Heera Mandal cleared Chhetri’s strike from 10 yards.
The Blues put on more pressure as substitute Ankit Mukherjee picked up a yellow card for a bad foul on Ashiq Kuruniyan in the final leg of the match. Udanta Singh also tried to score but he cut the ball which went off target. Five minutes were added for stoppage, but neither side could find the winning goal as they settled for one point each.
SC East Bengal will be in action against the leaders of Mumbai City FC at the Tilak Maidan stadium on Friday, while Bengaluru FC will also play the Islanders in their next assignment at the PJN Stadium on Monday.
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