Odisha FC vs East Bengal highlights, OFC 2-1 EBFC, ISL 2023-24: Princeton, Mauricio goals guide Juggernauts to narrow win

Goals from Diego Mauricio and Princeton Rebello help Odisha FC eke out a 2-1 win against East Bengal at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhuabneswar. 

Princeton gets the ‘Player of the Match’ award. 

OFC booking: Thoiba Singh has seen a yellow card late in the second-half.

Khabra swings in a dangerous cross into the box from the left flank. Felicio looks to attack the ball but Amrinder shows alert goalkeeping but coming off his line and punching the ball away before it reached the Red and Gold captain.

Nandhakumar cuts in and goes for a low shot at goal from inside the box. The effort does not lack power but probably not the right option as there were a sea of bodies between him and the goal. 

Six minutes added at the end of the second-half!

OFC sub: IN- Thoiba OUT- Puitea

Mahesh goes for a first-time shot, which he catches well. Amrinder matches the excellent shot with a solid save of his own as he smacks the ball away to safety. 

Nandhakumar skips past a couple of players and goes for the curler from the edge of the Odisha box. But Delgado does well to come in the way and make an important block. 

EBFC sub: IN- Khabra OUT- Rakip

OFC sub: IN- Lenny OUT- Princeton

East Bengal works out a short corner as Vazquez swings in a good cross inside the box. Amrinder does well to come off his line and punch the ball out of play. 

Time is running out and the signs are not good for the Red and Gold. The effort is there from Cuadrat’s men but they can’t seem to carve out any clear-cut chances. 

15 minutes od regulation time left as the match halts for its last water break. 

EBFC booking: This time, Felicio sees a yellow card for a rash tackle on Krishna. That may very well have been a red card. 

OFC booking: Jahouh is the latest player to get a yellow card for his reckless challenge on Felicio. 

OFC subs: IN- Aniket, Fall OUT- Mauricio, Gahlot

EBFC subs: IN- Nandhakumar, Nishu OUT- Mandar, Vishnu 

Isak Ralte looks to pull the trigger from close distance but Pantic comes in a timely tackle to prevent that from happening. 

Felicio tries to find Vishnu with a short pass near the edge of the Odisha box. Vishnu cannot control the ball and Odisha launches a counter-attack. Krishna leads the charge carrying the ball to the final third. He passes the ball to Princeton, who looks for a second with a shot on target. But the effort is weak and does not trouble Gill. 

Jahouh is clever with his delivery from the corner there. He sends in a low ball at the near-post and Princeton does well to reach the ball and slot the ball inside the net between the legs of Victor Vazquez. That is a proper training-ground routine from the Juggernauts there. 

Vishnu fires a cross across the face of the goal from the left, hoping that one of his teammates can get a touch. However, the ball misses everyone and ends up with an Odisha FC player. 

OFC booking: Mauricio gets a yellow card for dissent. 

He was certain that he was brought down inside the box by Lalchugnunga and had a go at the referee for not giving a second penalty.. 

Krishna gets inside the East Bengal box and tries to find Mauricio with a cutback. But Lalchungnunga does well and shows his strength to take the ball away from Krishna. 

Mahesh sets up Vazquez for a shot but the Spaniard opts to roll the ball for Cleiton on the right who was free. The situation was perfect for a first-time shot but the Brazilian takes a touch, cuts in and tries to find the corner with a curler. He ends up missing the target. 

Souvik takes a shot from the edge of the Odisha box but his effort misses the target by quite a distance. 

Mauricio makes his way inside the box and tries to get past his marker, Rakip. But the East Bengal defender does well to stand his ground and snatch the ball away from him. 

EBFC subs: IN- Mahesh Souvik OUT- Suhair, Chhetri

OFC sub: IN- Vignesh OUT- Jerry 

Scores level at 1-1 as the second half kicks-off at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. 

Vishnu scored East Bengal’s fastest ISL goal within 32 seconds and opened the scoring. But Mauricio’s successful penalty in the 40th minute, keeps scores level at the Kalinga Stadium at half-time. 

Gahlot’s misjudges the weight of his pass to his keeper and Odisha momentarily finds itself in a spot of bother as Cleiton almost reaches the ball with a late burst of pace. But Amrinder had anticipated the danger and does well to come out and clear it to safety. 

Three minutes added at the end of the first-half!

Jahouh goes for a direct goal from the freekick. He connects well with his shot but the ball goes straight to Gill, who shows a solid pair of hands to hold on to the ball. 

EBFC booking: Ajay Chhetri sees a yellow card now for his late challenge on Jahouh. It is a flurry of yellow cards for the Red and Gold. 

EBFC booking: Gill has seen a yellow card now for running to the referee and complaining against Krishna, citing dangerous play. 

Jerry receives a good pass on the left and squares the ball to Krishna. Krishna’s first-time shot is saved by Gill but he finds the net on the rebound. However, celebrations are short-lived as the flag goes up for offside. It was Jerry, who had timed his run a bit too early. 

It is a long runup from Mauricio. He connects well with his shot and buries the ball at the back of the net from the spot. Gill guessed the right away but could not keep the ball out. 

EBFC booking: Rakip has seen a yellow card for his foul on Mauricio inside the box. 

Penalty to Odisha - Rakip tried to stop Mauricio from getting ahead. He brings down Mauricio by pulling his hand. It is a soft penalty but we have seen these given before. 

EBFC booking: Cleiton sees a yellow card for protesting, saying Puitea deserved harsher punishment. 

Cleiton and Puitea both go for the loose ball as they slide in. There is a collision and the East Bengal captain has come off worse there. Before that, Jahouh had come in with a challenge on Vishnu with his studs showing. Ideally, the referee should have stopped play there but that wasn’t the case. 

Jahouh’s initial cross is punched away by Gill, who does well under pressure. But the ball goes straight to Jahouh, who has a second chance. His second cross is inch-perfect and finds the head of Narender Gahlot, whose effort rattles the side-netting. 

Jahouh swings in a good cross with pace and Delgado, at the near-post, tries to flick the ball towards the far-corner with a header. He does connect with the ball but cannot keep his effort on target. 

EBFC Booking: VP Suhair is shown a yellow card for his challenge on Ranawade. 

Odisha FC has a freekick in a dangerous position, as Jahouh stands over it. He will look to swing in a good ball. 

Jahouh shows his immaculate vision by finding Delgado as he swings a cross inside the East Bengal box from a freekick. Delgado heads the ball across the face of goal, but the referee blows his whistle as the assistant raised his flag for offside. Delgado had timed his run a bit too early as Jahouh sent in the cross. 

Ranawade receives a good pass down the right channel as he makes his way inside the East Bengal box. He looks to square the ball, hoping to find Krishna for a tap-in. But Gill does well to get his hand to it and stop the ball from reaching the Fiji international. Meanwhile, Mauricio wants a penalty after claiming that he was brought down inside the box but the referee does not pay heed to his demand.

Vishnu does well to thread a pass to Felicio, who shows good strength to shield the ball. With no way out, he passes the ball backwards to Cleiton, who swings a cross inside the box, hoping to find Suhair. Suhair does get his head to the ball, but under pressure, it was not the cleanest of contacts and the ball goes out for a goalkick. 

Roy Krishna makes a darting run inside the box and goes for a shot, which is hard and low. Fortunately for the Red and Gold, the effort is straight at Gill, who does well to make the save. But that was sloppy defending from East Bengal. 

Jahouh puts the ball inside the East Bengal with a well-measured lob from the middle of the park. East Bengal cannot clear its line and the ball falls to Mauricio. Mauricio shoots but cannot find the target. 

Jerry swings in a good cross inside the East Bengal box from the left flank. Mauricio looks to attack the cross but Lalchungnunga does well to anticipate the danger and send the ball away with a clearing header. 

Roy Krishna looks to pull the trigger from inside the East Bengal box but he goes down after Suhair barges into him. Odisha players give a decent shout for a penalty but the referee waves for play to continue. Tell you what, Suhair was quite late with his challenge there and he is lucky to have escaped with no punishment. 

Vishnu looked favourite to win the second ball in midfield and he did. He looks to make a clear run at goal but is stopped in his tracks by Delgado. East Bengal wins a foul. 

Vishnu looks for another as he takes a shot from distance. But this one lacks power and accuracy and it is an easy collect for Odisha FC keeper Amrinder. 

What a start we have at the Kalinga Stadium. Vishnu has found the net in just 32 seconds. Vishnu receives a throw-in and goes on a talismanic run. He glides past three Odisha players, cuts in and shoots at the near-post from inside the box, leaving Amrinder as a mere spectator. 

The ISL 2023-24 match between Odisha FC and East Bengal is underway at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. 

Dimas Delgado, East Bengal assistant coach: “We know the way that Odisha FC is playing with, the style that they have, and we, with our weapons, will show them what we have, and make things difficult for them.”

Sergio Lobera, Odisha FC head coach: “Every game is like a final. When you have six games left, every match and every three points matters for all the teams involved.”

Played - 7

Odisha FC - 5

East Bengal FC - 1

Draws - 1

Odisha FC will square off against East Bengal at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 on February 29, Thursday at 7:30 PM IST.

The Juggernauts need to fend off intense competition as teams have raised their game to challenge competitively for the coveted top spot in the standings.

East Bengal FC is two points behind (18) the sixth-placed Jamshedpur FC (20) and has a game in hand (16) as compared to the Red Miners (17) too.

Odisha FC leads the second-placed Mumbai City FC (31) by a solitary point (32), and the Juggernauts have played an additional game (16) as compared to the Islanders (15).

When and where is the Odisha FC vs East Bengal ISL 2023-24 match kicking-off?

The Odisha FC vs East Bengal ISL 2023-24 match will kick-off at 7:30 PM IST on Thursday, February 29 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 

How can you watch the Odisha FC vs East Bengal ISL 2023-24 match?

The Odisha FC vs East Bengal ISL 2023-24 match will be live telecasted on the Sports18 1 Channel (TV). The game can also be live streamed on the JioCinema app and website (online). 

The game will be livestreamed on OneFootball for those watching from outside India