New Delhi: East Bengal pumped in two quick goals in the space of three minutes to beat a spirited Indian Arrows 2-0 side in a fast-paced match and consolidate their position at the top of I-League points table here Tuesday. The goalscorers for the winners were Mahmoud Al Amna (13th) and Japanese midfield general Katsumi Yusa (16th).
With Tuesday’s win, their fifth in eight matches, East Bengal maintained their top spot with 17 points. The Indian Arrows, on the other hand, dropped down to seventh in the 10-team league table with seven points from seven matches.
The Arrows had come into their home match with confidence after defeating Shillong Lajong 3-0 here and drawing against Mohun Bagan 1-1 in Kolkata in their previous game, but they were beaten by a superior side. The AIFF’s developmental side, made up mostly of India’s U-17 World Cup players, were outplayed by their more experienced opponents in the first half.
They came back strongly in an evenly-contested second half but a goal eluded them as they failed to give finishing touches to some promising moves.
East Bengal players gave the youngsters very little space to move with the ball and played ‘pressing football’. This helped them gain in dominance in the middle third and they were rewarded with two goals.
East Bengal took the lead from a set-piece after Abhishek Halder fouled Yusa. Al-Amna took the free-kick from the left edge of the box and the ball hit the net after squeezing through the first post with the Arrows defenders caught napping.
Three minutes later, Katsumi curled in a beauty into the top right corner of the net, beating an out of position Arrows goalie in the air after a cross from the right beat all the home side defenders.
On the other hand, Mohun Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen announced his resignation after his team lost to 10-man Chennai City FC 1-2 in another I-League encounter at Maidan club ground in Kolkata, Tuesday. Jean Michael Joachim’s (6th) and Veniamin Shumeiko (71st) scored for Chennai while Ansumana Kromah (36th) scored for the home team. Chennai’s Pradeep Mohanraj was sent off for a handling the ball inside the 18-yard box in the 35th minute.
Press Trust of India