It was the same old story for East Bengal, who squandered easy chances to play out a 1-1 draw against a mediocre Viva Kerala in their last I-League 3 encounter at the Howrah Municipal Stadium here on Thursday.
The teams put up a lacklustre show before the breather. Hosts East Bengal had their share of opportunities towards the close of play, but lack of finishing did them in.
Viva Kerala stunned the hosts when they shot into the lead in the 10th minute. An unmarked C.S. Sabeeth scored off a header from captain’s C. Sirajudeen’s cross as the entire East Bengal defence was left stranded. The Kerala outfit’s joy didn’t last long though, as rookie Budiram Tudu equalised seven minutes later.
Rahim Nabi’s right-footer from inside the box was blocked by Viva Kerala goalkeeper Sahinlal Meloly, but Tudu was quick to slot home off the rebound.
A couple of changes from coach Phillippe de Ridder — Baichung Bhutia in place of Tudu and Sanju Pradhan replacing Alvito D’Cunha — provided some much-needed zip to East Bengal’s attack.
While Bhutia was a tad unfortunate with two of his attempts narrowly missing the target, two chances that Nabi let go by were sitters. In addition, Meloly too was out of position on both occasions.