Bharat FC hold East Bengal 1-1

New Zealand striker Kris Bright struck in the second half, as newcomers Bharat FC held East Bengal 1-1 in an I-League clash here Sunday.

Ranti Martins scored to put the city giants ahead in the first half of the Salt Lake stadium game.

The hosts drew first blood in the 41st minute, when Martins received the ball in front of the Bharat box and exchanged an intelligent pass with S Malasawmtluanga to go one-on-one with Arindam and kept his calm to slot it past the hapless custodian.

Just before the hour-mark, Tluanga sent in a perfect cross from the right wing for Martins, but the Nigerian's header dropped once in front of the goal and then went over the target.

Bharat finally had the equalizer in the 64th minute, when Bright attacked an aerial ball that had almost been gathered by East Bengal custodian Subhasish Roychowdhury and sent the ball home by putting heavy pressure on the goalkeeper.

Baljit Singh Sahni had a golden opportunity to put his team again in the lead, but failed to keep his piledriver on target after receiving the ball from a Nabi clearance.

With this result, Bharat FC earned their second point of the campaign in four games, while East Bengal kept loitering in the mid-table with eight points from five matches.