AFC Cup Quarter-final First Leg: East Bengal 1-0 Semen Padang – Super sub Sueoka gives EB slender advantage

File Photo: East Bengal players celebrate

East Bengal 1 (Sueoka 70)

Semen Padang 0

East Bengal registered a narrow 1-0 win over Indonesian champions Semen Padang in the first leg of their AFC Cup quarter-final in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Japanese play-maker Ryuji Sueoka came off the bench to score the winner in the 70^th minute and East Bengal crucially kept a clean sheet. The teams will meet again next Tuesday, in Indonesia, for the second leg.

The two big teams new for East Bengal was the exclusion of Japanese playmaker Ryuji Sueoka from the starting eleven. The former Dempo and Salgaocar man was only on the bench while goalkeeper Abhijit Mondal was out of the match squad entirely due to injury, with Gurpreet Singh Sandhu starting in goal.

Foreign strikers Edeh Chidi and James Moga started upfront in a 4-4-2 with Cavin Lobo partnering Mehtab Hossain in central midfield.

Semen Padang coach Jafri Sastra opted for a 4-1-4-1 system with South Korean Yu Hyun Koo as the defensive midfielder and Liberian Edward Junior Wilson the lone striker upfront.

Semen Padang started the game strongly and could and should have been in front inside the first ten minutes but Gurpreet Sandhu came to East Bengal’s rescue. The youngster saved Edward Junior Wilson’s effort and then stopped Muhammad Iksander’s shot from the rebound.

East Bengal looked nervy and their only attempts on goal were from set-pieces and long range efforts but Semen Padang goalkeeper Jandia Eka Putra wasn’t tested.

The red-and-gold brigade were getting outnumbered in central midfield with Mehtab Hossain getting overworked. Vendry Ronaldo Moro and Titus Bonai were consistently getting goal sight which forced East Bengal to give away freekicks in the middle of the park.

From one such freekick, Semen Padang could have scored when Koo’s scorching attempt wasn’t parried away well by Gurpreet but Moro’s close range header failed to find the target.

East Bengal’s best chance of the half came when a long ball from the back found Chidi behind the Semen Padang four. The Nigerian went past Putra but couldn’t find an onrushing Reisangmi Vashum who would have had a tap in.

In the second half, East Bengal’s Brazilian coach Marcos Falopa introduced Sueoka but it was Chidi who should have put the hosts in the front. The Nigerian forward expertly got away from his marker and even rounded a helpless Putra but somehow couldn’t hit the target.

Falopa then surprised everyone by taking off Moga and bringing on Abranches. East Bengal switched to a 4-1-4-1 themselves to match Semen Padang in midfield but even before that change could make an impact, the home side could have been behind.

A poor freekick from Lalrindika Ralte allowed Semen Padang to counter attack and then Wilson hit the post with a brilliant effort from outside the box.

East Bengal could have been 1-0 down but instead they took the lead through Sueoka. A fine move saw Lobo free on the right flank and his pass was beautifully curled into the back of the net with a first-time shot by the Japanese.

Falopa will get some stick for not starting with Sueoka but his two changes in the second half made the difference. Semen Padang tried to respond but they only had a few half chances from set-pieces.

East Bengal didn’t look like adding to their advantage but veteran Alvito D’Cunha got to make a late appearance and more importantly, the Indian side stopped Semen Padang from scoring an away goal.