Indian Super League: East Bengal inflicts third consecutive defeat on Bengaluru
East Bengal were the well-deserving winners of their latest encounter against Bengaluru. Cleiton Silva shushed his haters by scoring the only goal in the match, and Bengaluru faced their third successive defeat of the season in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Friday
East Bengal defeat BengaluruThe Blues haven't scored in three games, and the Torch Bearers secured their first clean sheet of the season. Bengaluru were briefly afflicted with injuries during the extended break, which could have contributed to their misfortune.
Simon Grayson implemented three changes - Suresh Wangjam, Udanta Singh, and Javier Hernandez were included in the starting lineup. East Bengal replaced Sarthak Golui with Ankit Mukherjee.
The opening half was a tedious build-up to the second half, where Cleiton Silva worked his magic. The hosts could not place a single shot on target in the first 45 minutes.
In the first minute, Bruno Silva made a long-range effort that went wide. Charis Kyriakous' attempt came next, but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu blocked the ball.
In the 62nd minute, Roy Krishna received a brilliant pass from Hernandez. The Fijian was inside the box, but he squandered his chance to put Bengaluru in the lead.
Seven minutes later, East Bengal drew blood. Suresh Singh Wangjam was marked by a towering Naorem Mahesh Singh and the fumbled. He accidentally threw the backpass towards the goalkeeper.
Mahesh pounced on the ball and tackled the keeper before squaring it for Silva, who slotted it in. With a minute left on the clock, Sunil Chhetri made a decent pass to Krishna, who overcame the keeper but was defeated by Ivan Gonzalez's powerful last-ditch tackle.
He seized the ball from Krishna and denied him the chance to score. In the six-minute stoppage time that followed, Bengaluru couldn't topple the Torch Bearers' pillar of defence.
Coach Stephen Constantine dedicated their away victory to late East Bengal fan Joy Shankar Saha and lauded the players for their collective effort. The Englishman gushed about the three points earned that have boosted his team ahead of the remaining matches.
The victory marks East Bengal's second win of the season. After being overtaken by them, they are now ranked eighth, and the Blues sit at ninth.
They're level on points with the 2021-22 League Shield winners Jamshedpur. The Torch Bearers will host Odisha at the Salt Lake Stadium on November 18.
The Blues will fly to the west coast and compete against Mumbai City on November 17.