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Odisha FC drew with East Bengal FC 1-1 in their first encounter of the Super Cup at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri Kerala on Sunday (April 9).
Group B of the Hero Super Cup consists of Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, East Bengal FC, and Aizawl FC.
Odisha FC had a decent season in the Indian Super League as the Kalinga Warriors finished sixth in the points table and qualified for the playoffs. They lost to the eventual champions ATK Mohun Bagan in the playoffs.
East Bengal FC had another terrible season in the ISL as they finished ninth in the league table and failed to reach the playoffs again.
The game and the Super Cup had a lot to offer both sides as the AFC Cup playoff slot was up for grabs for the winners of the Super Cup.
The game started with Odisha FC trying to score an early goal. East Bengal FC too tried to score an early goal, but neither side was able to do so.
Kamalpreet Singh, the custodian for the Red and Golds, made some crucial saves to deny the Kalinga Warriors the lead.
Mobashir Rahman scored in the 38th minute when he managed to close in on Narendra Gahlot and pick up a loose ball. The midfielder then made no mistake in slotting it past Amrinder Singh to give East Bengal FC the lead.
The scoreboard at halftime read 1-0
The second half started with both sides trying to take control of the game. Jake Jervis had quite a few chances to give East Bengal a bigger lead but failed to convert them.
Diego Mauricio played a low cross into the box for Nandhakumar, which he made no mistake in converting in the 78th minute.
With the scores tied, both sides tried hard to get a winner but failed to do so.
The scoreboard at full-time read 1-1. On that note, let's take a look at three things we learned from today's game.
#3 Odisha FC suffer without Josep Gombau
The Kalinga Warriors parted ways with their coach Josep Gombau at the end of the regular ISL season and Clifford Miranda was appointed as the interim coach for the Super Cup.
Odisha FC have faced East Bengal FC twice this season in the ISL. During both games, East Bengal took the lead but failed to hold on to it as the Kalinga Warriors managed to stage a comeback and win both games.
Odisha FC trailed East Bengal at the end of the first half in the latest game as well. In the second half, they did manage to score a goal and equalize but weren't able to secure the victory.
East Bengal, in fact, could have won the game but they missed a host of clear-cut chances.
Clifford Miranda, the interim coach, has a lot on his hands if Odisha FC are to get something meaningful out of the Super Cup.
#2 Jake Jervis is the villain for East Bengal FC
East Bengal FC signed Jake Jervis as the replacement for Eliandro in the winter transfer window. Jake, though, hasn't been able to impress fans or the critics with his performances on the pitch.
The English striker could have easily scored a hat-trick on Sunday if he had converted even half of the chances that came his way.
Some of the misses that Jake had could come back to haunt the Red and Gold Brigade if they fail to make it past the group stages of the tournament.
Stephen Constantine will hope that Jake finds his scoring boots in the last few matches.
#1 Stephen Constantine still hasn't been able to get East Bengal to play as a unit
Stephen Constantine will rue the chances missed by his side in this game. It was a game they should have won but failed to do so.
While the players, particularly the strikers, missed chances galore, questions will be asked as to why, despite it being the tail end of the season, Stephens still hasn't been able to make his side play compact football.
East Bengal have had defensive woes all season, and they showed that here as well. The style of football has been predictable with too much emphasis given to Mahesh's crosses from the left wing to Cleiton inside the box.
There hasn't been much creativity from the central zone of the pitch and that has been something Stephen hasn't been able to improve.
Stephen Constantine is slated to leave the club after the Super Cup. If he wants to leave on a high, he will need to work on his squad and make them play more as a unit rather than relying on individual brilliance all the time.
