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I-League newcomers from Manipur, NEROCA FC hosted East Bengal on a Saturday afternoon in Imphal at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium.
The two sides in the top half of the table clashed in the Northeast state with NEROCA FC having a chance to join East Bengal and Minerva Punjab at the top of the table. Before the match, NEROCA were tied on points (10) with Mohun Bagan and Shillong Lajong, whereas East Bengal stood top of the table with 13 points along with Minerva Punjab, but ahead on goal difference.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw after NEROCA managed to draw level in the end with a late strike from Nedo Turkovic, that snatched the points from Khalid Jamil's side. East Bengal had taken the lead with Katsumi Yusa's goal in the first half but NEROCA held on and stayed unbeaten at their home.
East Bengal maintain their position at the top of the table with 14 points from 7 matches, whereas NEROCA FC continue their dream debut season and now have a tally of 11 points from 6 matches and stay in the third spot.
Katsumi Yusa draws the first blood
East Bengal's star midfielder Katsumi Yusa broke the deadlock in the 13th minute putting Khalid Jamil's side in the lead. The Red and Golds had played a high-pressure game from the get-go and were rewarded with a good counter-attacking move.
Mahmoud Al-Amna, East Bengal's Syrian medio, broke through on the right wing after a NEROCA corner and played Willis Plaza through into the box. The East Bengal forward squared the ball in after rushing inside and found the Japanese Yusa free to fire. Yusa made no mistake in beating Lalit Thapa in the NEROCA goal and put the away side in the lead.
East Bengal's tactic of applying pressure on the Imphal side got them the dividends and set them on course in the game.
Willis Plaza goes off with an injury
Willis Plaza, East Bengal's main man in attack was substituted in the first half itself as he suffered an injury. The striker was taken off by Khalid Jamil just before the end of the first half and he was replaced by Charles De Souza in the frontline.
Willis Plaza, who had just gotten into a good run of form after enduring a poor run of games since the start of the season, will hope the injury is not a major concern. Even today, he provided the assist for the Katsumi Yusa goal with a good run into the box and an unselfish cutback for the Japanese midfielder.
East Bengal dominate the first half but only score one
The East Bengal midfield dominated the game in the first half as the foreigner duo of Mahmoud Al-Amna and Katsumi Yusa controlled the proceedings on the park. Mohammed Rafique came on in the 31st minute and did well along with Bazzou, who was instrumental in winning back the ball from the Manipuri side.
The Bengal side had a lot of close chances with Al-Amna, Plaza and Yusa getting opportunities at the goal but Lalit Thapa did well to keep them at bay.
The half ended 1-0 in favour of the Kolkata side but they could have scored more, considering the chances they created. NEROCA FC could not contain the high-pressure game from the Kolkata side as they struggled to deal with the skill and physicality of the East Bengal side.
NEROCA struggle to get going, East Bengal carry on where they left off
The second half presented a similar story to that of the first as East Bengal continued their dominance on the pitch. The introduction of Charles De Souza provided them with another target man ahead as Yusa and Al-Amna run the passes across the field.
NEROCA FC players found it tough to string together passes as they were not allowed any free space in the midfield. Their defence was constantly on toes as East Bengal turned the screws in the attack.
The midfield talent of East Bengal with the likes of Brandon Vanlalredmika, Mohd. Rafique in addition to Yusa and Amna running rings around the NEROCA players. The Kolkata side created a lot of chances throughout the second half but failed to convert their opportunities into goals.
NEROCA strike late, East Bengal rue missed chances
NEROCA managed to steal the point away from the clutches of the I-league leaders and what a way to achieve that.
Nedo Turkovic, NEROCA's striker from Bosnia-Herzegovina scored a stunning long-range goal from the edge of the box and beat Luis Barreto. The shot was curled superbly into the top right corner by the center forward as the crowd in Imphal went wild into celebrations.
Seven minutes of added time were added for both the sides to grab a winner in the match. The two sides pushed on until the last minute in search of the winner but the game ended all square. Khalid Jamil would be disappointed with the result as his side dominated proceedings for almost the entire match but got caught with a moment of brilliance from Turkovic.
