Emami East Bengal FC rode on Cleiton Silva’s brace to begin their Kalinga Super Cup football campaign with a fighting 3-2 win over Hyderabad FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
The Group A fixture saw Hyderabad FC draw level twice through Ramhlunchhunga and Nim Dorjee Tamang before Saul Crespo scored the winning goal for East Bengal in the 80th minute.
Later in the evening, their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan Super Giant also had to grind out a 2-1 win over Sreenidi Deccan, who certainly gave the defending ISL champions a tough time.
Sreenidi stunned Bagan to take a lead a little before the half-hour mark as William Oliviera found the target, converting from the spot after Lalromawia was fouled inside the box by Sumit Rathi. However, Bagan didn't take too long to restore parity.
A long-ranger from Abhishek Suryavanshi came off the vertical, but Jason Cummings was quick to make use of the rebound with the rival goalie out of position. Bagan then gradually began to fare a little better following that 39th-minute equaliser.
Thereafter, in the 71st minute, Armando Sadiku took Bagan ahead by scoring off a melee, which eventually turned out to be the winner.
The end result was definitely a relief for Bagan, although they were one man down in the closing stages as Suryavanshi was given marching orders following a second yellow card in the 86th minute.
Coming back to East Bengal, they have been struggling to score goals this season. But on this day, Silva led from the front as they looked to attack from the outset.
The first significant chance came in the eighth minute when Nishu Kumar delivered a cross from the left flank. Silva managed to head the ball down to Nandhakumar, setting up what seemed like a perfect volley opportunity. However, Nandhakumar’s shot struck the crossbar.
East Bengal, however, broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute. The move was initiated by Mohamad Rakip, who played a quick one-two with Nandhakumar before delivering a precise cross into the box.
Silva made a timely run into the box and volleyed the ball home to give East Bengal the lead.
