AFC Champions League 2 Prelims Highlights: East Bengal loses 2-3 to Altyn Asyr in return to Asian football

That’s the end of East Bengal’s return to Asian football after a gap of nine years as the referee blows the whistle for fulltime.

Four minutes to go.

Loads of time added on.

Silva goes for goal but the goalkeeper does well to hold on to the ball.

East Bengal gets a freekick at the edge of the box. Can they capitalise on this?

Hojovov is also out as Saparov comes on. Mirsultanov comes on too.

Altyn takes advantage of a lax East Bengal and tries to score on the counter but Gill is alert to the threat and saves the ball behind for a corner.

East Bengal thought it had equalised but the referee calls a foul! It was Cleiton Silva who looks like he forcefully kicked the ball from the goalkeeper’s gloves into the goal.

Aman CK comes on for Souvik Chakrabarti.

Myratberdiyev comes off for Annamyradov. A defensive change.

That was very, very lucky for Altyn Asyr! Great play from East Bengal to get the ball inside the box, but a defender tried to parry it away. However, he mishits it as the ball floats towards goal but hits the woodwork and bounces back. The goalkeeper couldn’t have stopped that.

Tajiyev and Myradov shown yellow cards.

Cleiton Silva comes on for David Hmar.

Myradov and Halmammedov come on.

Twinkle toes from the Spaniard! Saul Crespo takes it upon himself to drop his shoulders and get past the blue shirts inside the box before curling it past the goalkeeper to get East Bengal back into the game.

The fast start from East Bengal is in vain now as Altyn Asyr scores! It was Annayev who tried his luck looking for his second but Gill stopped that attempt. However, Mihail Titov was waiting on the far post to boot it in the goal.

Diamantakos has come on with a mind to score! Talal finds him inside the box as the towering defender manages to chest it down but the ball went beyond his feet. After a few seconds, the ball found its way back to the former Kerala Blasters player who let fly a powerful shot only to the goalkeeper’s gloves.

That was intent shown by Carles Cuadrat’s men. Diamantakos is already brought into the game, trying to play one-twos to make space. Then, Nandhakumar played a cross-shot, that caught the opposition goalie off guard, but a bit of backtracking helped him catch the ball.

As Altyn Asyr leads East Bengal at the break, the second half is underway at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.

Diamantakos and Jeakson come on.

Naorem Mahesh and Rakip come off.

East Bengal, the trailing side, is the first to come on to the field before second half begins.

An early whistle from the referee as the halftime ends with Altyn Asyr keeping its nose ahead at the break.

A long passage of play ends with a yellow card that was shown to Lalchungnunga. After Madih Talal’s freekick earned a corner, East Bengal came close to equalising but Asyr’s backline stood strong.

Great interception from inside East Bengal’s half sees David go a long way before losing control. However, he shields the ball well to win a freekick.

A lot can happen in six minutes on a football pitch. Can East Bengal balance the scales before the break?

Great foresight from the goalie, but risky! Gill comes out of the box and slides in to stop the ball getting into the path of the Asyr player. A nervy end to the half!

That was a great ball from the left flank but there wasn’t anyone to get their heads on it. The home crowd acknowledges the attempts with a loud cheer.

The Red and Gold Brigade is looking for an equaliser as 10 minutes or so left to go in the half. Whenever the ball is with Asyr, the men in blue are trying everything to slow things down, trying to play away from East Bengal’s press.

Altyn Asyr takes the lead for the first time in the match! A great freekick from Nurmyradov Selim sees Gill stay rooted to his spot once again as the ball nestles in the goal for Altyn’s second goal.

Souvik Chakrabarti slides in to win the ball but ends up conceding a freekick and getting a yellow card in the process.

After equalising, Altyn Asyr has had more of the ball, playing it around the midfield, looking for gaps which led to its goal. East Bengal, on the other hand, looking for that long ball.

Easy work for the traveling side there. Myrat Annayev side foots the ball into the left corner on the volley as Gill is left a spectator, rooted to the spot.

That was an easy chance created by the Turkmenistan side as Myratberdiyev gets a shot away on the volley, but Gill was strong as he dived to his left and made a good save.

Great feet from Nandhakumar Sekar on the left channel to find David inside the box who bent down low to head the ball home, but could only find the goalkeeper’s glove. However, the ball deflected to the post and came back to play, and David took advantage of the defenders’ not being able to clear the lines and slotted the ball home.

East Bengal there had an early chance to take the lead! Great defence splitting pass from the midfield found Rakip on the right flank, who then played a ball across the face of the goal, but it was parried away by Asyr’s backline.

The AFC Champions League Two prelim match between East Bengal and Altyn Asyr is underway at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata as Madih Talal gets the game going.

Loud cheers of “East Bengal, East Bengal” reverberate around the Salt Lake Stadium as we are moments away from kickoff.

Credit: East Bengal FC/YT

East Bengal: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Lalchungnunga, Hijazi, Rakip, Mark Zo, Talal, Nandhakumar, Naorem Mahesh, Saul Crespo, Souvik Chakrabarti, David

Altyn Asyr: Babayev (GK), Babajanov, Soyunov, Annaorazov, Hojovov, Annayev, Atayev, Tajiyev, Nurmuradov, Myratberdiyev, Titov