ISL 2022-23 – East Bengal stuns Bengaluru FC: Following three successive defeats, East Bengal finally gets back on track, stunning Bengaluru FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium and climbing up two spots into 8th place in the table. Cleiton Silva’s only goal (second half) helped the Red & Gold Brigade to pick up a much-needed victory over the Blues.
The game had a perfect build-up with the away and turning up in big numbers. Bengaluru FC admin tweeted, ” The East Bengal FC supporters gathered at the gate have welcomed a team bus with flares, flags, and chants, only to realize it’s a Basketball team arriving for their practice session. ” East Bengal FC admin later tweeted, “Basketball team or main team, whatever you did, it worked. “
East Bengal vs Bengaluru FC
Both teams had a cautious start. Simon Grayson started with Sunil Chhetri, Roy Krishna, and Javi Hernandez for the first time this season, with Udanta Singh too getting a nod. East Bengal started with an attack that included Suhair VP, Haokip, and Cleiton Silva.
Javi created the first big chance for Bengaluru when he slipped Chhetri through on goal, only for two EB defenders and Kamaljit Singh to smother the Bengaluru captain’s attempt at a hit.
In a half that didn’t see too many chances, Sandesh Jhingan turned up with a crucial last-ditch tackle to deny Silva who would have found himself with just Gurpreet to beat. The visitors were forced into a change early in the second half when Australian midfielder Jordan O’Doherty pulled up due to a knee injury and was eventually replaced by Alex Lima.
Bengaluru could have gone ahead through Krishna at the hour-mark after a string of delightful one-touch football had Javi slip the Fijian through. With East Bengal defenders in his trail, Roy Krishna had the far post to aim at, however, ended up scuffing his attempt.
Instead, it was East Bengal that eventually broke the deadlock after Naorem Mahesh Singh won a race with Suresh Singh on the counter, before squaring the ball for Silva who tapped into an open goal. The goal forced the BFC boss to make changes, bringing on Leon Augustine and Danish Bhat for Suresh and Roshan Singh. The stubborn defending saw the visitors eke out the win. East Bengal secured its first clean sheet of the campaign, which should be a great stepping stone for the Red & Gold Brigade to build on it, So, stay tuned for more ISL news.
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