It was one of the most unexpected results for a seasoned East Bengal side, after they were held to a 0-0 draw by the bottom-placed I-League team, Viva Kerala. Another surprise in the match was the fact that Bhaichung Bhutia did not start the game for Bengal side.
The match started with a good tempo, with both sides getting corners apiece within the first five minutes, but both defences were good enough to clear the ball easily. East Bengal got their next corner in the 15th minute which was comfortably punched away by the Viva keeper, Sharath K.
The Kolkata giants started pressing their way into the heart of Viva’s defence and were almost successful in finding the back of the net in the 22nd minute when Yakubu’s right-footer struck the post. It came off a free kick when MP Sakeer of Viva Kerala brought down Subhas Singh at the edge of the 18-yard box. Sakeer was also shown a yellow for his ill-timed challenge.
Later, it were Sakeer and Ruben Senyo who started troubling East Bengal’s defenders and making them look unsettled. In the 24th minute, Senyo made a good run into Bengal’s half, but the ball which was collected in time by Abhra Mondal. A couple of minutes later Sakeer provided Senyo with the ball at the edge of the box who later slid it to Sirajuddin, whose shot was blocked by Nirmal Chettri.
Though Viva started creating opportunities for themselves, they were equally responsible for wasting them as well. Half an hour into the game, the Kerala outfit wasted another chance when Amarwant Singh’s free kick found Senyo on the left in the 18-yard box who headed it back to Karma on the right, whose shot had the power but lacked in accuracy as it went way wide of the post.
East Bengal had the backing of the local crowd but it was Viva Kerala who enjoyed the ball possession as the local boys just weren’t able to get their acts together. It was Nirmal Chhetri who took on the responsibility to lead the Bengal defence as he was time and again clearing the ball from corners and free kicks.
In the 43rd minute Yakubu got into action for East Bengal when his free kick from the edge of the box went over the bar.
Just at the stroke of half-time, they got another opportunity to strike first blood as Alvito’s corner wasn’t cleared properly by the defenders. Subhash Singh tried his luck with the shot but it was blocked by Surjith.
Post half-time, East Bengal, without any signs of Bhutia, continued from where they left off and earned a free kick minutes into the second-half. Alvito took the kick from edge of the box but Sharath pulled off a spectacular save to deny the opening goal.
With both sides failing to find the opener, it was the crowd which kept the match alive even though there wasn’t much happening .
It was the same old story till the end as both the sides just couldn’t combine with all the throw –ins and free kicks acting more as a waste of time.
Eventually, Viva Kerala would have been happy to hold the Bengal side to a draw, especially looking at their performances in the I-league. With a draw, they have not only given hopes to themselves to qualify but also marred the chances of East Bengal who will have to pull off a couple of wins to sneak through. Happiest with this result though, will be JCT, who face Salgaocar later the same day.
Original Article Published on Goal.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Tuesday 22 December 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.