East Bengal sweep aside Chennai at new home

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Coimbatore, December 22: East Bengal continued their winning run in the I League season with a 2-1 win against Chennai City FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, which is latter's new home ground.

Two first-half strikes from Katsumi Yusa (26′) Charles D'Souza (31′) did the job for Kolktata giants though Romario Jesuraj reduced the deficit for the home side in the 43rd minute.

The game began on an attacking note with the hosts pressing hard to score, but failed to convert any. However, the first notable chance for the visitors came in the 16th minute, with a free kick just outside the box, but Katsumi Yusa couldn't make the most of it.

This was followed by a string of failed attacks and counterattacks on both the sides.

However, its were the Red & Gold who drew the first blood through a brilliant cross by Al Amna to the gutsy Katsumi Yusa, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net giving the visitors an early lead in the 26th minute.

East Bengal soon doubled their lead when a defensive lapse at the Chennai box led to a second goal from Charles Dsouza in the 31st minute.

Chennai, however, came back with a string of attacks on the visitors' side, finally finding the nets through Alexander RomarioJesuraj in the 43rd minute keeping their hopes alive in the game.

The second half saw an open game, with the visitors pressing hard to consolidate their lead while the hosts aiming to equalize. Three failed efforts in the second half from East Bengal's Willis Plaza and Laldanmawia Ralte denied the visitors from putting up an emphatic win against Chennai.

With this win, East Bengal leapfrogged to second in the I League table with 10 points from five matches whereas Chennai dropped to the eighth with four points playing one match more.

(Source: AIFF Media)