On a night that demanded three points, East Bengal crumbled at home as they lost 0-2 to Al Seeb in the AFC Champions League Two.
The Yuba Bharati Krirangan witnessed a wasteful performance from the home side, who failed to score despite numerous opportunities, and then got punished by the Omani club at the end.
East Bengal started the game brightly at the Salt Lake evening. The midfield’s pacey movement led to a couple of chances, but they were not taken. Mohd Basim Rashid missed an inexplicable header, as his headed effort went wide from point-blank range. David Lalhlansanga had his effort wide, while Dani Ramirez’s left-footed strike was saved by the Al Seeb goalkeeper.
The Torch Bearers had a big blow early in the first half as Anwar Ali hobbled off the field. The defender pulled up a muscle and was then taken off by Habas as Sandip Mandi came in as a replacement. At the break, it was goalless in Kolkata.
After the break, Jay Gupta went behind the Al Seeb defence, but his squared pass was left ajar as David failed to tweak it towards the goal. The visitors put in a bit of pressure, and Phurba Lachenpa’s goal was almost threatened from a corner, as the header from Axel Meye went wide. Ten minutes into the second half, Sandip Mandi’s floated cross was headed agonisingly wide by Edmund.
Al Seeb provided the body blow to East Bengal five minutes from time. Hassan’s cross from the right was controlled brilliantly by Axel Meye, who then turned and unleashed a shot which beat Lachenpa to find the net. It got worse for the home team, as Zahir Sulaiman curled one past to double Al Seeb’s advantage in stoppage time.
With the defeat, the Torch Bearers find themselves on the brink of elimination from the ACL Two, and they will require results going in their favour and win their last two matches in order to qualify for the knockout stages.