Bharat FC mounts rousing fight-back in 1-1 draw against East Bengal

A rousing comeback from Bharat FC helped them to a 1-1 draw against a fancied East Bengal FC side at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan on a rainy Kolkata night on Sunday. The Hero I-League round five encounter was full of thrilling twists and turns and Bharat FC put in an inspired second half display to split points with the Kolkata club. With this result, Bharat FC have two points from four games and sit 10th in the table. East Bengal occupy fifth place.

Ranti Martins’ 40th minute opener was cancelled out by a towering header from New Zealand international Kris Bright in the 64th minute. Bharat FC would count themselves rather unlucky to have come back with only a point as skipper Gouramangi Singh’s thundering header came off the underside of the cross-bar in the first half.

Bharat FC did not make the best of starts, being pushed back by a series of long balls into their box right from kick-off. Lalrindika Ralte and Harmanjot Khabra carved out half-chances in the first ten minutes but the Bharat FC defense held its shape admirably and managed to thwart the East Bengal FC attackers. The game burst into life in the 12th minute when Kris Bright controlled a lovely dinked pass from Subash Singh, turned his marker effortlessly and unleashed a stinging volley. Unfortunately for Bright, the shot though well-struck was aimed straight at the East Bengal FC custodian.

Over the next ten minutes, Bharat FC continued to string together some wonderful passes. Lester Fernandez and Bright exchanged a couple of exquisite passes before the latter teed up Fernandez whose curling shot went wide of Subashish Roychowdhury in the East Bengal goal. Romuald Boco was next up, a long raking run from the center of the field was followed by a great interchange with Subash before the Beninese midfielder’s volley went over the bar.

In the 25th minute, the impressive Fernandez whipped in a precise corner and the onrushing Gouramangi Singh connected solidly with the ball. The header beat Roychowdhury all ends up but clanged against the underside of the cross-bar before bouncing out. After the half-hour mark, there were a couple of nervous moments for the Bharat FC defense but Arindam Bhattacharya, the Bharat FC custodian, mopped up after his defenders, often coming out with purpose to snuff out some dangerous passes.

East Bengal went in front in the 40th minute after Nigerian striker Ranti Martins played Shylo Malsawmtulunga in space on the left of the Bharat FC box. The midfielder’s lovely first touch allowed him a yard of space and he utilized that rare moment of freedom to feed Ranti in the six-yard box who tapped the ball in.

Steven Dias replaced Rajinder Kumar at the beginning of the second half and the move seemed to pay immediate dividends. In the 55th minute, Dias floated in an accurate free kick which allowed an unmarked Bobby Hassell a free header. Hassell managed a strong connection but was unable to direct it away from the goalkeeper. A couple of minutes later, Dias again curled in a free kick which caused confusion in the East Bengal defense but no Bharat FC attacker could bury the loose ball.

In the 64th minute, a Mehrajuddin Wadoo chip found Steven Dias in space on the left flank and the 31-year-old Dias did well to wrap his foot around an awkwardly bouncing ball and send in a first time cross. The looping cross seemed to cause confusion in the East Bengal defence and that allowed the dangerous Bright to expertly maneuver himself behind the defense and slam in a powerful header to restore parity for Bharat FC.

The goal seemed to embolden the Lions as the last 20 minutes saw them craft a number of incisive attacking moves. With Manjit Singh having replaced Lester Fernandez, the 28-year-old from Batala caused havoc in the East Bengal defense. Striking up a great partnership with Bright, the latter consistently pulling defenders out of position, Manjit had a great chance to score the winner in the 90th minute. Having received the ball from Boco, Manjit wriggled past a couple of defenders before trying to curl his shot in the corner from the edge of the box. The sweetly stuck shot seemed to have too much height on it with a flailing Subashish Roychowdury happy to see it sail over the goal.