Two red cards in less than 60 seconds to East Bengal’s Nandhakumar Sekar (28th minute) and Mahesh Singh (29th) against Mohammedan Sporting were the highlights of the ISL-XI match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.

Playing with nine men for the next 74 minutes, including 13 minutes of total injury time, East Bengal, with ample help from clueless rival players and some dogged defending, earned their first point in the ongoing league.

The barren tie kept them at the bottom of the 13-team league, while Mohammedan Sporting are a place above with five points. Both have played seven matches each.

East Bengal, after their commendable performance in the AFC Challenge League, were bullish about their chances on Saturday. But red cards by referee Harish Kundu left them stunned.

Nandhakumar got the red for swinging his arm at Amarjit Singh Kiyam’s face. That incensed his teammates and their petulant midfielder Mahesh Singh, already on a yellow, got his second booking after kicking a water bottle on the sidelines. Mahesh could have avoided that.

“The behaviour of my players for the two red cards was not right. Actions will be taken against them,” East Bengal coach Oscar Bruzon said later.

Early in the first half, East Bengal had a penalty denied by referee Kundu when Dimitrios Diamantakos was brought down what looked like inside the box.

However, Mohammedan Sporting had only themselves to blame for not logging three points. They were too naive while attacking.