SC East Bengal mounted a spectacular fight back to hold former champion Chennaiyin FC to a 2-2 draw in Match 70 of the Indian Super League at the Tilak Maidan Stadium on Wednesday.
Trailing by two goals in the first half, East Bengal made a remarkable return after the break where it erased the deficit with two nice goals by Darren Sidoel and Lalrinliana Hnamte to steal a point from Chennaiyin.
Chennaiyin FC made a fantastic start by opening the goal route right in the second minute. Jerry Lalrinzuala surprised the East Bengal defence with his speed and moved up the left flank to essay fine cross. Suhail Pasha went for the floater but failed to connect it properly. But the Chennaiyin attacker’s effort did not go in vain as the ball hit East Bengal defender Hira Mondal's legs and found the back of the net.
AS IT HAPPENED: SC East Bengal vs Chennaiyin FC Highlights
Chennaiyin took control of the action from this point and mounted more attacks to keep the East Bengal defence under continuous pressure. Chennaiyin doubled the lead in the 15th minute as the East Bengal defender Mondal committed another mistake by sending a miss-pass that was collected by Ninthoi Meetei. The Chennaiyin winger accepted the gift and quickly moved into the East Bengal box and finished with a powerful drive that gave East Bengal goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya no chance to save.
East Bengal clawed back into the action in the final 15 minutes of the opening half. Brazilian striker Marcelo had the opportunity to pull one back in the 44th minute but he sent his header wide. Darren Sidoel showed his class with a stunning free-kick in the 61st minute that helped East Bengal narrow the gap.
East Bengal did not give up and the equaliser finally came its way in added time when substitute Lalrinliana Hnamte produced a remarkable header to guide home a measured corner from Wahengbam Luwang.
The result: East Bengal 2 (Sidoel 61, Hnamte 90') drew with Chennaiyin FC 2 (Hira Mondal 2-og, Ninthoi 15).
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