Panchkula: East Bengal on Sunday beat Minerva Punjab FC by a solitary goal in their penultimate round match to remain in the title hunt and take the battle for I-League crown down the wire.
Enrique Esqueda scored the winning goal for East Bengal in the 75th minute at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here. East Bengal’s win on Sunday meant that the I-League title will be decided on the final match day on Saturday. With 39 points from 19 matches, East Bengal are just one point behind leaders Chennai City FC (40 points from 19 matches). The Kolkata giants will need to win their final match against Gokulam Kerala FC in Kozhikhode on Saturday and hope that Chennai City FC either draw or lose against Minerva in Coimbatore on the same day if they want to lift the trophy for the first time. For Chennai City FC, a win against Minerva at home ground on Saturday will be enough to clinch their maiden I-League crown. Both the title-deciding matches will be played at the same time at 5pm on Saturday. Holders Minerva, who were out of reckoning for the title long time back, started the game on an attacking note and enjoyed a good spell of possession in the first few minutes. (PTI)
