East Bengal let Churchill Brothers off the hook
Kolkata/Mumbai, Jan. 29: An unfit Odafe Okolie turned out for only about five minutes before being replaced but his brief stay was enough to give the East Bengal defence jitters as Churchill Brothers squeezed out a 2-2 draw in the I-League Round 12 encounter at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday.
Showing signs of desperation, Churchill coach Vincent Subramaniam fielded a limping Odafe in place of Amoury Gentil with hardly five minutes to go before regulation time.
The ploy turned out to be a masterstroke as the entire East Bengal backline began to focus solely on Odafe, while his strike partner Kayne Vincent was left unmarked.
Just seconds before the final whistle, Odafe somehow tapped a Steven Dias corner that found Vincent, who brought up his second goal of the game with a push that rolled in off a deflection and restored parity.
Earlier, Sanju Pradhan converted a penalty to put East Bengal in the lead five minutes after the break.
In Kolhapur, Air India were forced to settle for a draw as Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan rallied to a 1-all draw in the round 12 tie.
The teams were evenly matched in possession and control. If Air India dominated the first half, Bagan came in good in the second half.
Air India played an attacking game and created a few chances through Dhanachandra Singh and Manjit Singh early on. But it was in the injury time of the first half that Manjit Singh found the target, off Dhanachandra.
Bagan, who tried hard for the equaliser found it in 58th minute through Jose Ramirez Barreto after being put in from the right flank. Bagan midfielder Jayanta Sen was adjudged man of the match.
In Kannur, debutants AIFF XI edged out a fighting Viva Kerala with an 86th minute goal from Subodh Kumar at the Nehru Municipal Stadium. On Sunday, fourth placed Mumbai FC will take on Salgaocar FC in Kolhapur.
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