After a couple of days of festivities, the Indian Super League was back with an intriguing Boxing Day battle. Bottom-club SC East Bengal took on 8th-placed Chennaiyin FC, with both sides having sub-par season up to this point. A win was necessary for either party, but at least one was sure to be disappointed. A feisty clash ensued, and here’s what we made of it:

Report

East Bengal looked fairly competitive in the opening stages, but it was Chennaiyin FC who drew first blood in the 13th minute as Jakub Sylvestr played Lallianzuala Chhangte in behind the defence around the halfway line. The pacy winger only had Debjit Majumdar to beat, and he successfully did so by slotting below the keeper just as he dived to prevent him from scoring.

https://t.co/1x66eWQJUn pic.twitter.com/R4r7u9Qopf

— R.H. Lakshana (@dboredsociopath) December 26, 2020 There was a huge chance for an equaliser in the 37th minute when Matti Steinmann chipped the ball over the Chennaiyin FC defence for Mohammed Rafique, who went around the rushing Vishal Kaith, but failed to get a shot away with an open goal at his mercy as Deepak Tangri made a last-ditch challenge. East Bengal finally got an equaliser in the 59th minute, as Matti Steinmann flicked a corner on with his head, and it clipped the far post before hitting the back of the net. https://twitter.com/QEBNA/status/1342852595677876225 In less than five minutes, however, Jakub Sylvestr played Rahim Ali through on the right. The youngster stepped across Bikash Jairu before slotting home calmly. https://twitter.com/orangelays/status/1342853988195180545 Soon thereafter, Sylvestr brilliantly controlled the ball at the edge of the box and let fly from the edge of the box, but Debjit Majumdar was equal to his effort as he tipped it wide. Enes Sipović headed the resultant corner, but his effort only hit the crossbar. There was yet more drama in the 68th minute, as Vishal Kaith failed to catch Danny Fox’s looping header after a corner, and Matti Steinmann picked up the scraps to equalise once again. https://twitter.com/ArpanRicko/status/1342855125509926912 Two minutes later, the ball broke for Jacques Maghoma on the left of the box. The winger created a bit of space for himself and let fly, but only managed to hit the side-netting. In the 77th minute, a slick counterattack by Chennaiyin FC led to Lallianzuala Chhangte pulling the ball back for Jakub Sylvestr, whose shot was well-saved by Vishal Kaith. Two minutes later, Milan Singh presented a brilliant chance to Sylvestr with a terribly-weighted pass, but the striker failed to hit the target. The Slovakian forward continued to miss great chances in the 89th minute when he somehow glanced Rahim Ali’s cross wide of the far post. Up at the other end, Scott Neville had a free header from four yards out following a corner, but he put it high. Neither side could find a late winner, so the match ended in a thoroughly entertaining 2-2 draw.

SC EAST BENGAL

Key Talking Point

Another Hard-Fought Point

This has been said many times in the last few weeks, but surely, this was a must-win for SC East Bengal. The Red and Gold Brigade looked to be the better side in the opening stages of the first half, but they characteristically conceded after a strong start to undo all of their good work. Things could certainly have been worse soon thereafter, but East Bengal missed a couple of glorious chances to equalise before the break. However, Chennaiyin didn’t take theirs either, so the second half was certainly an open affair. With goals being the top priority for Robbie Fowler’s men, the British manager made a few half-time changes in his system. It must have been a great relief to see Matti Steinmann of all people chip in with a brace, but the defence didn’t hold up well again meaning that East Bengal never had a lead.

True FIGHTING character exhibited by SC East Bengal.

Truly a spirited comeback.

And what a match….Absolute end to end stuff.

SCEB – 2

CFC – 2#JoyEastBengal #SCEBCFC #ChhilamAchiThakbo #EBRP #ISL pic.twitter.com/Sm87Eg9TdY

— EAST BENGAL the REAL POWER (EBRP)❤