An injury time equaliser from Jaime Santos helped East Bengal escape with a 1-1 draw versus Churchill Brothers in an I-League match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
Though Jaime got the all-important goal for the hosts, the architect behind it was Ansumana Kromah.
The Liberian striker received a pass from Abhash Thapa inside the Churchill box and he tried to make a quick turn while Suresh Meitei tripped him from behind. East Bengal were awarded a penalty kick.
Jaime took the spot kick but Churchill goalkeeper James Kithan made a brilliant save. However, Jaime made amends on the rebound and put the ball in to make it 1-1 for East Bengal.
Kromah didn’t get a start on Saturday, he came in place of Rohlupuia in the 58th minute and kept the rival defenders busy in last half-an-hour of the game.
With one point from the match, Churchill now have 20 pints from 13 matches and are 12 points behind table-toppers Mohun Bagan. On the other hand, East Bengal have 19 points from 14 outings.
Churchill got the lead as early as 10th minute of the match. Dawda Ceesay’s floater dropped in between East Bengal defender Asheer Akthar and Churchill striker Willis Plaza.
The defender misjudged the bounce of the ball and the experienced Plaza pounced on it. He went past East Bengal defenders Mehtab Singh and Samad Ali Mallick before calmly slotting the ball home.
This was Palza’s eighth goal of the league. The goal once again exposed East Bengal’s defensive frailties.
A minute after conceding the goal, East Bengal created an opportunity, Jaime found Marcos De La Espada with a lobbed ball and the striker gave it to Brandon Vanlalremdika, whose shot went wide of the far post.
East Bengal goalkeeper Mirshad K made a brilliant save with his chest to thwart a Ceesay shot. East Bengal coach Mario Rivera made three changes in his playing XI from the previous match. Victor Perez, Rohlupuia and Brandon started the game replacing Lalrindika Ralte, Kromah and a suspended Kassim Aidara.
In other matches, Gokulam Kerala FC and Punjab FC split points after a 1-1 draw, while Aizawl FC rallied to hold hosts Real Kashmir FC 2-2.
