Churchill Brothers’ efforts to regain the second spot in the I-League received a jolt as East Bengal came from behind to hold the Goan club to a 2-2 draw at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
Churchill, who led 1-0 at halftime, scored through Odafe Okolie (37th) and Felix Chimaokwu (56th), while East Bengal fought in the second half and scored through Mehtab Hossain (58th) and Sanju Pradhan (68th) to restore parity.
The hosts, who needed a win to move to second place, remained on the third place with 39 points from 25 matches, a point behind second placed Pune FC. East Bengal collected 30 points from as many matches.
The visitors looked the better side in both the halves. They were more organised in the first half, creating ample scoring chances but lacked the finishing touch.
Alvito D’Cunha had a superb chance to put East Bengal ahead in the 15th minute when he was set up by Beingaichho Bekhokhei with a through pass, but hit the post instead. Few minutes later Churchill keeper Arindam Bhattacharya made a diving save to put the ball out of danger off Syed Rahim Nabi header.
Churchill, who rarely troubled the rival defence went ahead in the 37th minute. Reisangmi Vashum worked his way on the right and on entering the box, passed the ball to Odafe who got the better off his marker and essayed a left footer that found the net. — PTI