Md Sporting play safe, settle for a draw

He rather should have rued the lost opportunity. East Bengal took the field sans four frontline players. Surkumar Singh was out, suspended. Goalkeeper Subrata Paul, centreback M Suresh and midfielder Mehtab Hossain missed the game owing to injury. Yusif Yakubu, apparently unwell, sought to be taken off in the 21st minute. Yet, Md Sporting could not muster the courage to go all out for a victory.

They had their chances though, some of them pretty close. A lovely inter-play between Sovan Chakrabarty and Mike Okoro in the 22nd minute saw the former set it up nicely for Theodore Sunday, who was off target from eight yards. Theo had another one-to-one with East Bengal goalie Abhra Mondal in the 53rd minute. But his final touch was weak that allowed Suley Musah to go round his goalkeeper and clear it off the line.

The first half was exciting with attacks and counter-attacks. Md Sporting impressed with their passing game. Especially, Okoro, with his languid elegance, was a joy to watch. East Bengal tried to hit on the break. In the 35th minute, East Bengal were awarded a freekick as Madhab Das tripped Sunil Chhetri just outside the box. Renedy Singh8217;s curler was acrobatically saved by Md Sporting custodian Tharangachan Tungshang. The latter was very impressive under the bar and earned the Man of the Match award. The youngster showed promise.

The black-and-white brigade lost the plot after the breather. Suddenly, errors started to creep in and apart from Anit Ghosh, the defence started to look vulnerable. Ali8217;s tactics to play a waiting game in the second half allowed East Bengal gain an upper hand. In the 48th minute, the red-and-golds had a very strong appeal for a penalty when substitute Praveen Kumar8217;s shot hit Ghosh8217;s hand inside the box. Referee PK Bose negated the appeal and gave corner instead. Chhetri had a clear sight of the goal from that corner but hit over the crossbar.

In the 71st minute, a Rahim Nabi centre from the right once again found Chhetri inside the box. This time the header was on target but Tungshang was up to the task. Seven minutes later, Kumar wasted another from close range. Little wonder that East Bengal coach Stanley Rozario was a little upset after the match.

After six rounds, East Bengal are placed sixth in the league standings with eight points, while Md Sporting moved to 10th spot with six points.