KOLKATA
Local giants East Bengal's ordeal continued as they lost 1-2 to FC Goa in the Indian Super League, courtesy Edu Bedia's stoppage time free-kick, here on Wednesday.
The Gaurs thus ended their six-match winless streak at the Salt Lake Stadium. It was Brandon Fernandes, who had put the Goan outfit ahead in the seventh minute while Cleiton Silva converted a spot kick to restore parity.
FC Goa got the lead when the 28-year-old midfielder was picked out from the left flank by Alvaro Vazquez before he dodged past Ivan Gonzalez and dinked it over custodian Kamaljit Singh to give his team the lead inside 10th minute of the first half.
In the 24th minute, Jordan O'Doherty and Cleiton Silva launched a counter-attack. O'Doherty played the ball in behind Silva but the striker could not get a shot away. At the half-hour mark, East Bengal appealed for a penalty, but a freekick was awarded at the edge of the box instead. Silva's strike from the set piece was punched clear by junior World Cupper Dheeraj Moirangthem.
Five minutes from half-time, a long ball from the defensive third was played towards Vazquez. The Spaniard brought the ball down with an exquisite touch and then unleashed a shot on target that was palmed away for a corner. Edu whipped the ball in from the resulting corner and Anwar Ali's header was only just wide.
The red and gold brigade applied early pressure and pushed the Gaurs into their own half. In the 57th minute, VP Suhair sprinted down the right flank and picked out Alex Lima near the edge of the box. The Brazilian took a couple of touches before firing his shot over the bar.
The East Bengal pressure paid off minutes after the hour-mark. Suhair skipped the offside trap and reached the ball before Dheeraj and was taken down by the keeper. The referee instantaneously pointed to the spot. Silva stepped up to take the spot kick, sent Moirangthem the wrong way and levelled the score in the 64th minute.
In the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, FC Goa won a free kick in the East Bengal half, near the halfway line. The Gaurs swarmed forward for it as Bedia whipped in a deep ball into the box. The ball bounced awkwardly in front of the keeper and sneaked into the back of the net without getting a touch of any player.
The Gaurs will make a trip to the southeast coast to face Chennaiyin FC in their next match on Friday. East Bengal will travel to Guwahati next to face NorthEast United FC the day before that.
