CFL 2019, as it happened: Marcos Espada penalty gives East Bengal 1-0 win over NBP Rainbow

Catch the live score, commentary, goals and lineups of the Calcutta Football League match between East Bengal and NBP Rainbow.

Updated : Sep 20, 2019 19:04 IST , Kolkata

East Bengal is placed fourth on the CFL points table after 8 matches. (FILE IMAGE)
East Bengal is placed fourth on the CFL points table after 8 matches. (FILE IMAGE)
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East Bengal is placed fourth on the CFL points table after 8 matches. (FILE IMAGE)

 

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The referee blows the final whistle and loud cheers go around EB's home ground. East Bengal goes 2nd on the points table and is level on points with Peerless SC. CFL 2019 points table

90+ 3' Foul against Rainbow outside EB's box. That should seal all 3 points for the Red and Gold.

Three minutes of added time.

Some sight that! The smoke from the flare has made a thick cover over the stadium.

89' A long ball into EB's area but Crespi as always is positioned well and makes the interception.

The red flares are lit up in the stands.

86' Last roll of the dice for Rainbow: Akash Dutta comes on for Abhijit Sarkar.

84' Brandon's low cross from the right is cut out by Rainbow's defence.

83' Ralte with a dreadful goal-kick as the ball goes out for a throw in inside his own half but Rainbow returns the favour from the throw in.

82' Didika makes a foul in the center of the midfield and referee awards a free-kick to Rainbow.

10 minutes left on the clock.

77'What a crucial tackle by Samad! Mondal taps the ball away from the right back and looks to make room for a shot at goal. Samad recovers well to make a crunching tackle to take the ball away from his feet.

76' Samad chips a ball forward for Santos to run onto but the linesman flags the forward offside.

71' What a chance for Rainbow to equalise! The EB defenders let the ball bounce around in the box and Felix pounces on it. The striker unleashes a powerful shot which strikes the near post to go behind for a goal kick. Hand on head for Felix as EB breathes a sigh of relief.

68' Final change for EB: Tondonbo comes off for Didika Ralte.

68' Saurav Mondal is in the thick of things straight away as he kicks at the heels off Mera.

67' Change for Rainbow: Sujay Dutta comes off for Saurav Mondal

64' Chance for EB! Ronaldo flies down the left flank and squares it into the center of the box which Jaime Santos fails to keep on target on the run.

63' Nearly a goal for Rainbow from the free-kick. The flighted ball into the area is chested down and is toe poked straight at Ralte.

61' A shot from distance from Abhijit on his left foot which is stopped by Ralte!

Change for Rainbow: Paltu Das comes on for Suraj Mahato

58' Colado darts in on the right side and fires a ball across the face of the goal. The ball goes behind for a goal kick.

57' Second change for EB: Pintu Mahata comes off for Brandon.

55' CHANGE FOR EB: Jaime Santos Colado comes on for goalscorer Espada. Big cheer goes around for the replacement.

51' Rainbow works the ball from the right side and the attacker looks to play a one-two with Felix but Crespi is positioned to make the interception.

49' Rohlupia is down on the field receiving treatment. He seems to be going off the field at the moment.

48' Samad evades a tackle and races down the right flank and fires in a low cross which doesn't find any EB attacker on the end of it.

47' Marti Crespi heads out a long ball into East Bengal's box.

46' Wow. The stands are filled to the brim during the 15-minute interval. Or at least most of the stands from what I can see. The drums ( dhols ) are out in anticipation of a celebratory night, perhaps. We are back for the second half.

SECOND HALF

Here is how the updated points table looks like - CFL 2019 points table

The referee blows for half time whistle. East Bengal deservedly sitting in front thanks to a penalty from Espada.

45+ 1' That could have been the second for East Bengal! Tondonba makes a good run with the ball down the right side and hooks in a ball into the center. Espada side foot volleys the ball but is just wide of the corner of the goal.

Three minutes of added time. Food lifghts are beginning to take effect at the East Bengal football ground.

43' Abhishek races on to the loose ball and darts into the box to rifle a cross into the six yard area which required just any kind of touch to turn it into the net. Unfortunately for EB, Espada couldn't arrive in the spot on time.

40' Foul by Tondomba in midfield and a free kick is awarded to Rainbow.

38' SAVE! Juan Mera swings in a free kick into the box which is met by the run of Pintu Mahata's diving header! It requires a strong block from the gloves of Ankur!

36' Marcos Espada coolly slots the ball along the ground into the left corner. It's 1-0 for East Bengal! The Red and Golds go level on points with table-topper Peerless SC.

PENALTY!! Ronaldo is released down the left side and he is tripped by a tackle from behind. Referee had no hesitation to point to the spot.

It's not pretty football from either side. It's difficult to come up with good passing football in patchy conditions.

32' Another promising move from East Bengal comes to an end after Ronaldo is thwarted as he looks to dribble past the Rainbow defender.

'EAST BENGAL' chants in chorus go around the stadium. Bet they would be a unhappy bunch if their team fails to put away the 11th ranked side.

29' Rainbow work the ball well down the left flank but the overlap run is flagged offside by the linesman.

28' The ball falls kindly in the path of Juan Mera, who rifles it straight into the hands of Ankur! Either side of the 'keeper and it would have been 1-0 to EB!

26' Excellent tackle on Juan Mera to get the ball off the atatcking midfielder.

25' A poor effort that as the Rainbow midfielder lines up a shot from range which fails to test Ralte in goal.

23' Ouch! A yellow card for Rainbow's Agwu Richard as he clatters into Ronaldo, who was the first to a long ball. Could have been worse for Rainbow as it appeared to be a last man tackle but the referee deems it not to be.

21' Rohlupia brings down Sujay Dutta on the right side outside East Bengal's box. The free-kick is wasted by Rainbow.

17' Delightful first touch by the Espada! A ball over the top is brought under control by de la Espada with his right boot and but his disrupted as he attempts to line up his shot at goal. His effort is deflected and ends up trickling into the hands of Ankur.

13' A cross from the left is dangerously close to Rainbow's goal and Ankur sticks out an arm to deflect it behind for a corner. Nothing comes out of the corner.

12' Chidi Odili brings the ball inside East Bengal's box but the referee flags him for a foul.

10' A cross in from the right is met by the strong fist of Ankur to take it away from his side's goal.

7' A long ball over the top finds Mera who volleys a shot on the bounce, but he fails to keep the ball on target.

4' Juan Mera drifts to the left side and cuts in to find Pintu Mahata's run to the edge of the box. The midfielder looks to curl a strike low into the bottom corner which is kept out by the left arm of Ankur Das.

3' Rainbow breaks down the left side and the attacker takes a shot on goal which Mawia collects diving low to left.

FIRST HALF

Rainbow XI: Ankur Das (31), Agwu Richard (27), Pradip Patra (16), Subhankar Kangabanik (35), Cahttu Mondal, Abhijit Sarkar (07), Sourav Roy (17), Suraj Mahato (20), Sujay Dutta (11), Bolance Kazeem Amobi (10), Felix Chidi Odili (12)

East Bengal XI: Mawia, Asheer, Pintu Mahata, Tondomba, De La Espada, Ronaldo, AMM Crespi, Juan Mera, Samad, Abhishek, Rohlupia

Subs: Kamalpreet, Abhijit, Jaime Santos, Boithang, Didika, Bidyashagar, Mehtab, Brandon, Mirshad

Which side are you cheering for? Where is your team on the league standings? Missing out on important #CFL2019 fixtures? Don't worry, we've got you covered! The hyperlink below has answers to all your questions.

Our Editor Ayon Sengupta paid a visit to the City of Joy on September 1 for the titanic Kolkata Derby clash. Here's his ode to the oldest and most popular rivalry in Indian football. (READ)

Points table, full list of fixtures

Where to watch: The match kicks off at 2:30 p.m. IST and will be telecast live on Sadhna News, Addatimes app. It can also be streamed on Sadhna News'YouTube channel.

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