Krishna’s Bengaluru side now at ninth spot

National Digicel and Bengaluru Football Club captain Roy Krishna was a threat for the East Bengal FC as they completed the double against his side with his open play but couldn’t find the finishing touch, as the first half ended with East Bengal FC taking a 1-0 lead. Bengaluru FC’s persistence was rewarded in the 55th minute for the equaliser.

Once again, Roy Krishna was in the thick of things. He went on a run on the right flank before cutting it back to Javi Herandez, who smashed the ball into the net.

The two teams played out a 2-1 thriller in the last game of Indian Super League (ISL) in 2022 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata last Friday.

East Bengal FC took the lead thanks to a Silva penalty in the 39th minute. The goal came against the run of play thanks to some good work from Suhair VP on the right flank.

Suhair’s mazy run forced Naorem Mahesh Singh into a mistimed sliding tackle, and the ball rolled onto his arms. The referee pointed to the spot. Silva took a stuttering runup but calmly slotted his penalty home, putting East Bengal FC 1-0 up against his former club for the second time this season.

Bengaluru FC looked threatening from set-pieces in the first half, with headed chances falling to Sunil Chhetri, Parag Shrivas, and Pablo Perez.

Both sides pushed for a winner. Bengaluru FC substitute Siva Narayan came ever so close in the 90th minute, but Suvan Sen was there to deny him.

He was left to regret it as Silva scored an outstanding free-kick three minutes into stoppage time to give East Bengal FC all three points and move above them into eighth place.

East Bengal FC kicks off the New Year with a visit to the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar against Odisha FC on Saturday January 7. Bengaluru FC has now dropped down to 9th place from 11th spot and will visit the Indira Gandhi National Stadium in Guwahati to play NorthEast FC tomorrow, January 6.