East Bengal took on rivals Mohammedan Sporting in a must-win match in their penultimate round of the CFL Premier Division A’ on Tuesday at the Salt Lake Stadium after losing their last encounter with Peerless. Both the teams have drifted away slightly after dropping four points in their last two matches.Earlier, it was Peerless who brought an end to East Bengal’s 17-games unbeaten streak. In order to maintain their second spot in the points table, it was important that the red and yellow brigade got off to a good start.
It was Johny Acosta who provided East Bengal just that in the 12th-minute of the match.The first half saw East Bengal show glimpses of improvement in their back line, something that looked out of place against Mohan Bagan and Peerless. East Bengal went into half-time with a lead of 1-0, thanks to Acosta’s 12th-minute strike after the Sporting goalkeeper stopped a header off a corner, it was on the rebound that Acosta found the back of the net.In the dying moments of the match, the Mohammedan Sporting came back from behind o score two goals in extra time and win the match.
Finally, Acosta’s goal did not prove to be the difference as East Bengal had to settle for no points. Mohan Bagan is still the top of the points table with 23 points, with East Bengal and Peerless in the second and third spot. But with this loss East Bengal’s Calcutta Football League(CFL) campaign nearly came to an end. If Mohun Bagan looses the last two matches & East Bengal wins their last match with high margin then there is a probability, which is next to impossible.
Mohammedan, on the other hand, are currently standing at the fourth position in the league table with 16 points from eight matches. They have nothing to loose but they also blocked East Bengal from the title’s race.
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