ISL 2024-25: East Bengal Remain Point-Less After Defeat to Kerala Blasters, Anwar Ali, Prabhsukhan Gill Make Costly Errors

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East Bengal's winless run in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 continued as they suffered a 1-2 defeat against Kerala Blasters in Kochi on September 22 -- Sunday. This was the second defeat on the go for East Bengal, marking the first instance when coach Carles Cuadrat failed to take a point from his first two matches of the season.

Despite taking an early lead, East Bengal were undone by defensive lapses, particularly by goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill and debutant centre-back Anwar Ali, who made his much-awaited debut after all the transfer controversy over his move from rival club Mohun Bagan.

The game started brightly for East Bengal but had to wait till the hour-mark to open the scoring. PV Vishnu tap-in the goal into the empty net following a nice set-up by self-less Dimitrios Diamantakos. However, that joy was short-lived as they couldn't capitalise further and allowed the Blasters to regroup.

Kerala Blasters equalised shortly after through a mistake made by East Bengal's goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill, who made a critical error at his near post following a deep cut by Noah Sadaoui into the box from the left. His low-driven shot slipped through the gap between Gill's legs, giving the visitors an easy route back into the game.

Conceding at the near post is always seen as a goalkeeper's weakness, and Gill wasn't having a good day at work at all. To make his work tougher, The home crowd, energised by the team's push, added to the pressure, forcing East Bengal's defense into faults they were not showing before.

Gill's poor positioning again came into play later when Kwame Peprah managed to score the second goal for Kerala Blasters. Instead of covering his near post, Gill shifted his position, allowing Peprah to fire low and secure the lead for the Blasters.

Anwar Ali, who had been solid for most of the match, also made the costly mistake of losing the ball before Gill's fatal error. Under pressure from Mohammed Aimen and Kwame Peprah, Ali lost possession inside his own box, giving Kerala Blasters the opportunity they needed to press for the winner.

Despite their early advantage, East Bengal couldn't find the attacking spark to equalise in the final stages, leaving them still without a point this season. One of the few positives that coach Carles Cuadrat could take from the poor start is that East Bengal still have time to make a recovery in their season.