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Match report: East Bengal goes down to Gokulam Kerala
- That was all from my end, thanks for joining me. This is Manasi signing off -- goodbye!
Full time: East Bengal 1-3 Gokulam Kerala - East Bengal falls to its second straight defeat. After losing to Churchill Brothers in its last fixture, the Reds and Golds lose to Gokulam Kerala at home today. With the Kolkata Derby on Sunday, this is a worrying result for East Bengal and its fans. As for Gokulam Kerala, the 3-1 win takes it to the fourth spot. East Bengal is fifth.
90+2' - Ronaldo takes the corner-kick for East Bengal, but it is cleared easily by Gokulam. Gokulam is a couple of minutes away from a big win here today.
89' - Salman goes off and on comes Lalromawia.
85' - Espada releases Ronaldo Oliviera on the right flank and the latter moves a make towards the box. He crosses the ball for Colado but Ubaid collects it. Ronaldo slowed down on seeing his marker Ettiene at the box, which allowed Gokulam to be alert.
83' - Well, that is also the end of the game for Lalrindika. Tondomba will replace the captain.
82' - Ettienne is brought down terribly by Lalrindika and there goes the yellow card for the East Bengal skipper.
79' - Garcia is brought on by Varela as Shibil leaves the ground. Can Gokulam hold on to its lead for 10-15 minutes?
75' - East Bengal's defence has let it down this evening. The first goal was a defensive error as Kisekka was left unmarked, the second was an own-goal by Crespi, and the third again was a defensive fault by Akhtar and Lalthuamawia.
70' - Oliviera has been brought on by Menendez as EB's first change of the game.
65' - GOAL! EAST BENGAL 1-3 GOKULAM KERALA. Marcus Joseph scores on the follow-up after his first-time shot was blocked by Lalthuamawia Ralte. He sends the ball past goalkeeper Lalthuamawia and defender Akhtar, after Kisekka set him up with a peach of a pass from the middle.
64' - Lalthuamawia collects a cross from the right side from Sebastian. Sebastian was looking to find Kisekka at the far post with his cross.
62' - Marcus looks to be threatening yet again as he rushes towards the East Bengal box. He makes his run and looks to cross for Kisekka at the other end but Crespi blocks. Earlier, at the other end, Espada nearly got to the end of a cross from Mahata.
59' - Naocha tries to find Marcus up front with a forward pass but Asheer intercepts.
54' - After East Bengal fails to create much off a corner-kick, Gokulam attacks on the counter by dispossessing the home side. Marcus Joseph is released on the right flank and as he ways his make into the East Bengal box, Kamalpreet puts in an exceptional block to clear the danger.
49' - The East Bengal fans call for a penalty kick after Mahata's cross for Espada was blocked by Ettienne, who seemed to have made contact with the ball through his hands. The official though just signals for a corner-kick. Nothing vital comes off the set-piece.
46' - Second half begins. Mayakkannan has injured his hand and is receiving treatment. Referee has paused play.
Half time: East Bengal 1-2 Gokulam Kerala: An own-goal from Marti Crespi (45+1') keeps Gokulam in the lead at the break. Henry Kisekka drew the first blood in the 20th minute before Kassim Aidara levelled scores seven minutes later.
45+1' - GOAL! EAST BENGAL'S MARTI CRESPI SCORES AN OWN-GOAL! After Salman's blistering run from the right, Kisekka was in prime position to score from the six-yard box but the East Bengal defenders kept him in control. Switching flanks, he sent the cross for Marcus at the other end of the box, who shot at goal. Crespi tried to clear Marcus' shot but ended up sending it into his own net! EAST BENGAL 1-2 GOKULAM KERALA.
45' - Two minutes of additional time has been introduced.
41' - Free-kick for East Bengal. Lalrindika steps up for it and his delivery takes a curve, but lands outside of goal. It is still 1-1.
37' - Wide! Kisekka keeps East Bengal defenders on their toes as he tests them with his dribbles near the box. Attracting all defenders to him and hereby clearing space for his midfielders, he passes the ball to Shibil. Shibil takes control of the ball -- he has lots of space in front of him to shoot -- and releases a left-footed shot, which goes wide of the mark!
35' - Shibil puts in an inswinging corner-kick as he aims for Ettienne or Kisekka at the far post. However, his delivery is headed away which allows Marcus to try an overhead kick. The attempt however is miscued.
33' - A long ball from the defence is played forward for Kisekka, but his marker Akhtar does his duty of clearing the danger. We have crossed the half-hour mark and the scores are level at this point.
27' - GOAL! EAST BENGAL EQUALISES THROUGH KASSIM AIDARA! Asheer Akhtar heads towards the far post through Lalrindika Ralte's free-kick but his shot ricochets off the post. On the rebound, Kassim Aidara slots a tap-in at the far post, where is left unmarked! EAST BENGAL 1-1 GOKULAM KERALA.
20' - GOAL! HENRY KISEKKA PUTS GOKULAM 1-0 AHEAD! Sebastian Thangmuansang finds Kisekka on the edge of the box on the right side. Kisekka controls the ball, cuts it in and sends it beyond Lalthuamawia at goal. Lalthuamawia got his hand on the ball but failed to stop it.
19' - BLOCK! Jestin clears Mahata's cross inside the box after Espada set up the East Bengal youngster from the right wing. The ball is cleared for a corner-kick, which is collected by Ubaid easily.
16' - Free-kick for East Bengal. Captain Lalrindika takes the set-piece and Colado gets a header towards goal. However, Ubaid dives low to collect it at the near post.
15' - Kisekka shoots inside the box but is blocked by goalkeeper Lalthuamawia. Later, the loose ball falls to Marcus who releases a shot at goal which forces the East Bengal custodian to pull off a diving save!
13' - Confusion in the Gokulam box! Juan Mera takes a shot from outside the box after Colado finds him with a pass. Mera's shot is poorly cleared by the Gokulam central defenders, which allows Colado to shot. However, the attempt flies over the bar!
10' - Attacking intent shown from Gokulam as Salman pulls strings in midfield. Naocha rushes in from the left wing and fires a cross but Lalthuamawia collects it.
8' - Set-piece for East Bengal and Lalrindika takes it. He keeps it short and nothing comes off it.
1' - Kick-off! East Bengal vs Gokulam Kerala is underway at the Kalyani Stadium.
Line-ups
East Bengal XI: Lalthuamawia Ralte, Asheer Akhtar, Kamapreet Singh, Jaime Santos, Pintu Mahata, Kassim Aidara, Marcos Espada, Lalrindika Ralte, Marti Crespi, Juan Mera, Abhishek Ambekar.
Gokulam Kerala XI: Ubaid CK, Naocha Singh, Andre Ettiene, Marcus Joseph, Salman K, Wungngayam Muirang, Shibil Muhammed, Justin George, Muthu Mayakkannan, Sebastian Thangmuansang, Henry Kiseka.
Match preview
Quess East Bengal returns home after a long away spell as it gears up host Gokulam Kerala at the Kalyani Stadium in a must-win match for both the teams to stay alive in the title race.
East Bengal, which suffered its first loss of the season against Churchill Brothers in the last fixture, will be looking to get back to winning ways. The Red and Golds are placed fifth in the points table with eight points from five games and a win against Gokulam Kerala can assure them of a top-three spot.
Speaking before the match, East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez said: “We need to be very strong in defence and be much focused. In attack, we will try to be combinative to create as many chances and hopefully convert them. We need to perform in a good way to play this game that is surely going to be tough considering Gokulam will have a similar outlook.”
Gokulam Kerala FC has had a rough patch in the last few matches and the results haven’t favoured the Kerala Outfit. In spite of Marcus Joseph being in prime form, the team has failed to put together a string of good results.
Gokulam will be at a disadvantage against East Bengal due to the suspension of defenders Haroon Amiri and Mohamed Irshad. The team will also be concerned over a recovering goalkeeper Baskaran, who had to be taken off due to a head-on collision during the match against Chennai City.
Coach Fernando Andres Santiago Varela said, “Quess East Bengal are always a strong opponent, with very good foreign and Indian players. We will do our best to win away from home.” He added, “Irshad and Amiri are experienced players but we will replace them with two players who are our assets for the future and they will do a good job.”
“With regard to the ‘bad’ luck, I think we are the team that most create scoring chances in the championship and we are not being effective enough. We must improve in this aspect and hopefully be as fast as possible.”
Match details
East Bengal vs Gokulam Kerala will be broadcast live on DSport and can be streamed on FanCode app from 5:00 PM IST.
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