
Clutch: A spirited second-half effort sealed the deal for East Bengal.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
East Bengal scripted a spectacular comeback as it overturned a deficit of two goals to down Punjab FC 4-2 in the ISL at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Tuesday. Punjab put up a dominant performance in the opening half and scored twice with contributions from its international attackers, Asmir Suljic and Pulga Vidal.
EBFC made a remarkable return after the break as its Jordanian defender Hijazi Maher pulled one back within 90 seconds of the resumption before P.V. Vishnu, Suresh Meitei (own goal) and David Hmar found the target to complete the Kolkata outfit’s impressive win.
Punjab was reduced to 10 men in the 64th minute when defender K. Lhungdim was ejected following his second booking of the match and EBFC made the most of the advantage to secure its third win.
The win took East Bengal’s tally to 10 points from 11 matches but it remained in the 11th spot. Punjab’s hope of climbing to the third spot was nullified as it remained in fifth with 18 points from 11 matches.
The result: East Bengal FC 4 (Hijazi Maher 46, P.V. Vishnu 54, Suresh Meitei 60-og, David Hmar 67) bt Punjab FC 2 (Asmir Suljic 21, Pulga Vidal 39).
Published – December 18, 2024 12:10 am IST