Kolkata: The swagger has been replaced by a stutter. After winning their first two matches, East Bengal have dropped seven points in the next three.
For the second time this season, they have not been able to protect a one-goal advantage. For the second time, they have shipped a late goal. The one against Jamshedpur FC led to a defeat by the odd goal in three. On Saturday, it gave Kerala Blasters their first point after four straight losses.
The 1-1 result will add to the discomfort Oscar Bruzon finds himself in after the East Bengal head coach got himself into a pickle by saying that some in the club are not backing the team. “Go back, Bruzon” could be heard soon after the final whistle at Salt Lake stadium on Saturday belying the fact that East Bengal are still third in the Indian Super League (ISL) table with eight points from five matches.
Indications that a 1-0 lead would not be enough had come at the end of the first half when the big Senegalese defender Fallou Ndiaye managed a free header from a corner-kick that had left Prabhsukhan Gill stranded but narrowly whisked off target.
Gill could do nothing when Muhammad Ajsal powerfully headed home from another corner-kick, in 90+2. East Bengal had forgotten their marking duties allowing the Kerala Blasters forward a free header. Yousseff Ezzejjari ran towards the ball and no one picked up the 22-year-old who played in the Super League Kerala last season for Calicut FC.
Till then, Ezzejjari’s penalty in the 10th minute looked like it would make the difference between the teams. With relegation still part of the 12th season rules, Kerala Blasters, along with Mohammedan Sporting, Sporting Delhi and Odisha are in a battle to survive. They will hope that this will be the beginning of a turnaround in the single-leg season.
This remains East Bengal’s best start since joining the top tier in 2020-21 and with Mohammedan Sporting up next, Bruzon can get to his target of four points from the last two matches before the international break. But the momentum built by comfortable victories against NorthEast United and Sporting Delhi has been lost.
Bruzon started with PV Vishnu as left back, the plan being to get the attacking player to invert into midfield. It gave Miguel Ferreira the freedom to play in a wider area. The Brazilian, Bruzon said on Friday, played too far away from goal as East Bengal lost their mojo against Jamshedpur FC and FC Goa.
But, barring a through ball for Mohamad Basim which the midfielder dragged wide, Ferreira was anonymous. Bipin Singh again showed excellent work ethic but the quality of deliveries remained ordinary.
Edmund Lalrindika looked the player most likely to provide a telling ball and it fit that it was his pass for Ezzejjari that fetched the penalty. Neither Ezzejjari nor Aibanbha Doling got the ball but the Kerala Blasters central defender’s slide got the East Bengal striker’s legs and it was enough for referee Harish Kundu. That East Bengal’s best move came in the 10th minute told its own story.
Kerala Blasters tried using the width of the park with their wingbacks but looked every bit a team that has not been through a full pre-season. Yet, what they lacked in cohesion they tried to compensate through a positive attitude They harried East Bengal, Ferreira especially, got numbers to protect their goal and grew in confidence as the game wore on. And when East Bengal switched off, Ajsal didn’t.