A 10-man SC East Bengal managed to ward off the challenge of Chennaiyin FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Monday. The match ended goalless.
SC East Bengal defenders were alert and custodian Debjit Majumder made some crucial saves which helped the team extend their unbeaten run to seven games.
With one point from the match, the Calcutta giants now have 12 points from the same number of matches. They are now ninth on the ISL table. On the other hand, with 15 points from 12 matches Chennaiyin FC are at the seventh spot.
New signing Ajay Chhetri was in the starting eleven, but he was shown two yellow cards — in the 22nd and 30th minutes. With Ajay receiving marching orders at the half-hour mark, SC East Bengal found themselves on the back foot.
Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, Chennaiyin pressed hard and nearly took the lead when Jerry Lalrinzuala played to Esmael Goncalves who found Anirudh Thapa inside the box. The midfielder managed to roll the ball past the onrushing Debjit, but couldn’t direct his shot towards the goal. Narayan Das cleared the ball.
SC East Bengal managed to keep their opponents at bay for the rest of the half.
Robbie Fowler’s team looked threatening after the restart and should have found the back of the net when Anthony Pilkington hit the side netting from a tight angle. Later Debjit pulled off a stunning save to deny Goncalves from the edge of the box.
