Kolkata, Oct 13 David Lalhlansanga’s brace went in vain as East Bengal conceded two quick goals in the second half to lose 2-3 to Iraq’s Al Shorta club in their second group match of AFC Champions League Two here on Tuesday.
The Indian Super League champions were twice in the lead, with Lalhlansanga scoring in the eighth and 40th minutes, but the Iraqi side restored parity with goals from Ruben Ramírez (14th) and Hussein Al Saedi (51st) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
Kingsley Kuku put the visitors in front in the 53rd minute, scoring what proved to be the match-winning goal.
East Bengal also failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage in the last 15 minutes after Al Shorta’s Abdoul Moumouni was sent off for receiving his second yellow card of the match. The Kolkata heavyweights are winless in two matches.
With their second consecutive win, Al Shorta are currently on top of the Group D table with six points while East Bengal are third with one point which they earned after drawing with Al Hussein of Jordan 2-2 on September 16.
East Bengal slower than their opponents to settle into the game, but Lalhlansanga gave them the lead in the eighth minute when he collected Hardik Bhatt’s pass from the right and fired past Jalal Hassan on the turn.
The visitors responded just six minutes later as Ruben Ramírez’s looping cut-back from the right corner found Yahya, whose downward header bounced past a rooted Prabhsukhan Singh.
Hassan made consecutive saves in the 21st minute — an instinctive one-handed parry from Lal Chungnunga’s 35-yard drive and then Lalhlansanga’s half-volley on the rebound as the home side pushed forward to regain their lead.
Their efforts paid off five minutes before the break when captain Basim Rashid collected Hasan’s block of a Daniel Ramirez free-kick, back-heeled from the byline to an unmarked Lalhlansanga, who drove the ball from close range into an empty net.
But Al Shorta levelled the score again six minutes into the second half after some fine work by Yahya on the left, who squared to a waiting Al Saedi to tap in from inside the six-yard box.
The Iraqi side took the lead for the first time in the 53rd minute when Kuku’s thumping header off a corner ricocheted off Prabhsukhan’s arm and went into the net.
Hassan made consecutive point-blank saves from Edmund Lalrindika and Lalhlansanga in the 67th minute as East Bengal intensified their search for an equaliser.
Al Shorta were dealt a blow in the 76th minute when Abdoul Moumouni was flashed a second yellow card for a tackle on Jay Gupta.
However, East Bengal failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage in the last 15 minutes of the match though they came close on a number of occasions.
(PTI News)
