Mid-fielder Pilkington guilty of poor finishing for the Kolkata side
SC East Bengal wasted a number of scoring opportunities before managing to hold a 10-man FC Goa 1-1 in an ISL match at the Fatorda Stadium on Friday. Igor Angulo took Goa ahead late in the first half before Daniel Fox produced the equaliser for East Bengal in the second to help the latter pick up a point.
East Bengal had the chance to alter the scoreline in the very first minute when it was awarded a penalty. East Bengal’s left-wing back Narayan Das was brought down by the Goa defender Mohamed Ali prompting the referee to point to the spot. However, Anthony Pilkington gave the East Bengal fans a heartbreak when he sent his attempt wide.
The Gaurs regrouped quickly and almost got the break in the fifth minute when Angulo got the ball clear in the East Bengal half but failed to beat goalkeeper Debjit Majumder.
Goa defenders found East Bengal forward Bright Enobakhare’s silken skills with the ball a bit too hot to handle as the Nigerian weaved past his challengers in the 27th minute to release Pilkington in front of the goal. But the Irish midfielder was sloppy with his finishing once again.
The breakthrough
Goa then found the breakthrough in the 39th minute when Angulo made no mistake after receiving a nice through-pass from compatriot Alberto Noguera, who split the East Bengal defence open to find the former in the right spot inside the East Bengal box.
East Bengal returned strongly after the break and created a lot more opportunities but its finishing left a lot to be desired. Finally it fell on seasoned defender Fox to find the equaliser, which he did off a corner from Pilkington.
Goa was reduced to 10 men in the 65th when its captain Edu Bedia was sent off for a second booking but East Bengal failed to take advantage of the numerical advantage.
The result: FC Goa (Igor Angulo 39) drew with East Bengal 1 (Daniel Fox 65).
Saturday’s match: Mumbai City vs NEUFC, 7.30 p.m.
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