I-League: Dudu Omagbemi's brace helps East Bengal defeat Royal Wahingdoh 2-0

Dudu’s brace clinched a 2-0 win for East Bengal

Barasat (West Bengal), May 24 (IANS) Kolkata football club East Bengal defeated Royal Wahingdoh 2-0 to secure all three points in an I-League encounter at the Barasat District Sports Stadium here on Sunday.

With the win, East Bengal positioned themselves in fourth spot in the 11-team league with 29 points from 19 games, having won eight and lost six. Royal Wahingdoh are a place ahead in third with 30 points from 20 games with eight wins and six losses.

Dudu Omagbemi scored both the goals for the home side in extra time of the first half and in the 66th minute to steer East Bengal to victory.

It was a cautious start to the match with both sides having half chances without testing their goalkeepers.

But just before the end of first half, Dudu made it count for the hosts as Shylo Malswamtlunga found Ranti Martins on the left and the Nigerian crossed it to the far post where Dudu was making a late run. The striker made no mistake as he slot it in effortlessly after getting in behind the Royals' defence.

Dudu was lucky in the second half again as he took advantage of indecisive defending by Royal defenders. While his first shot from the right was parried by Prem Kumar, it was the former Wisla Krakow man who beat the visiting defenders on to the rebound, sending the ball in to the net.

The win allows East Bengal to stay in the hunt for third place as they trail the Royals only by a point and with a game in hand. For Royal Wahingdoh, they end their campaign with two back-to-back defeats in Kolkata, a blot on their otherwise brilliant season.