East Bengal end with win but again miss title

East Bengal came close yet again before settling for the second place with a 2-1 victory over Gokulam Kerala FC in the I-League here Saturday.

The club and its Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia knew it had to win and then leave everything else to fate.

Marcus Joseph gave the hosts the lead in the 69th minute but a penalty from Jamie Santos Colado (79') and Laldanmawia Ralte's strike (85') helped East Bengal pick up full points.

The game began with the Red & Golds on the attack and pressing hard to take an early lead. Their first attempt to score came as early as in the second minute of the game, but East Bengal were unable to draw first blood.

As the half progressed, however, East Bengal looked more under pressure to score and the hosts slowly but surely began to take charge. The visitors also showcased high quality in defence and along with some stellar goalkeeping by Rakhsit Dagar ensured that the hosts did not take a lead.

Gokulam came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, with the closest chance coming in the 39th minute, but an improbable single-handed save by Dagar ensured that Trinidadian striker Marcus Joseph was stopped from close.

East Bengal began the second half stronger as well and a Didika Ralte effort in the 62nd minute hit the right upright. The hosts, however, stunned the visitors when Marcus scored a fine goal off a slick Gokulam move.

Arjun Jayaraj passed ahead to Emmanuel just outside the top of the box and the Nigerian's deft backheel set Marcus on his way on the left. The Trinidadian drove inside and unleashed an angled left-footer beating Dagar all ends up.

The East Bengal then increased the pressure and 10 minutes later, Jamie Santos Colado restored parity off a penalty and Danmawia then put the Red & Golds ahead in the 85th minute with an opportunistic goal.

However, those two goals were not enough as Chennai City FC romped to their maiden league crown with the 3-1 win over former champions Minerva Punjab FC in Coimbatore.