Federation Cup champions East Bengal and Chonburi FC of Thailand shared points as they settled for a 4-4 draw in a high-voltage AFC Cup Group H match at Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday.
East Bengal could have earned full points but for a poor defence which cracked whenever there was any pressure. Most of the East Bengal defenders, except Oga Ukpara, appeared tentative and left enough gaps to allow rival forwards to do the damage.
The red-and-yellow outfit fought back and restored parity by striking twice during the later part of the second half.After Baljit Saini reduced the margin in the 77th minute, Ravinder Singh converted a spot kick to keep East Bengal’s honours intact.
With veteran midfielder Chaiman and forward Adul Lahso combining well and scheming most of the moves, Chonburi dominated the proceedings for most part of the game except at the beginning and then towards the end.They also displayed fine and accurate passings and quick changing of positions to outwit their rivals.
East Bengal started promisingly and forged ahead in the seventh minute when Tolgay beat Chonburi keeper Sinthaweechai with an accurate shot.Inspired with the early lead, the home team kept up their pressure and Tolgay struck again in the 22nd minute. This time his shot off Penn Orji went in after hitting a rival defender.
Chonburi made their first good move in the 29th minute and reduced the margin. After Thai midfielder Ekaphan’s powerful shot was saved by East Bengal custodian Sandip Nundy but Pitob smartly made it home from the rebound.
A minute after this goal, Tolgay had to leave the field due to an injury. As the East Bengal attack lost sting, the rival forwards got enough space to force their attacks and finally drew level a couple of minutes before half time with Andul Lahso scoring a gem of a goal with a rasping drive which beat Nandy completely.The second half saw Chonburi dictating terms and banged in two more goals as East Bengal defence looked helpless. While Pitob displayed his class to score again to take the lead in the 67th minute, increased it further with an angular shot which hit the post and went in.
East Bengal could have earned full points but for a poor defence which cracked whenever there was any pressure. Most of the East Bengal defenders, except Oga Ukpara, appeared tentative and left enough gaps to allow rival forwards to do the damage.
East Bengal in inspiring fashion opened up a 2-0 lead through their striker Tolgay Ozbe within 22nd minutes only to lose the lead and concede two goals within next half hour’s play which came through Chonburi captain Pitob, Adul, Lahso and Ekaphan.
The red-and-yellow outfit fought back and restored parity by striking twice during the later part of the second half.After Baljit Saini reduced the margin in the 77th minute, Ravinder Singh converted a spot kick to keep East Bengal’s honours intact.
With veteran midfielder Chaiman and forward Adul Lahso combining well and scheming most of the moves, Chonburi dominated the proceedings for most part of the game except at the beginning and then towards the end.They also displayed fine and accurate passings and quick changing of positions to outwit their rivals.
East Bengal started promisingly and forged ahead in the seventh minute when Tolgay beat Chonburi keeper Sinthaweechai with an accurate shot.Inspired with the early lead, the home team kept up their pressure and Tolgay struck again in the 22nd minute. This time his shot off Penn Orji went in after hitting a rival defender.
Chonburi made their first good move in the 29th minute and reduced the margin. After Thai midfielder Ekaphan’s powerful shot was saved by East Bengal custodian Sandip Nundy but Pitob smartly made it home from the rebound.
A minute after this goal, Tolgay had to leave the field due to an injury. As the East Bengal attack lost sting, the rival forwards got enough space to force their attacks and finally drew level a couple of minutes before half time with Andul Lahso scoring a gem of a goal with a rasping drive which beat Nandy completely.The second half saw Chonburi dictating terms and banged in two more goals as East Bengal defence looked helpless. While Pitob displayed his class to score again to take the lead in the 67th minute, increased it further with an angular shot which hit the post and went in.Inspite of being in arrear for two goals, the home side never lost heart and made an all out attempt towards the end. In the 73rd minute, Baljit Saini scored after Robin Singh headed the ball to him inside the box.
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