Kolkata: East Bengal resumed their I-League campaign with a drab goalless draw against Churchill Brothers at home in a round 17 fixture here on Tuesday.
In a game of very few chances, both sets of defenders were on top as Churchill moved two points clear of rock-bottom Rangdajied United while East Bengal have now dropped 17 points after 12 games. They have, however, moved up a spot to seventh place, above Mohun Bagan.
Churchill started strongly with Anthony Wolfe going close twice in the opening 10 minutes. East Bengal goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu had to be alert on both occasions to deny the Trinidad and Tobago international.
Gurpreet then did well to stop Balwant Singh’s powerful shot from 25 yards as the visitors continued to create pressure in the East Bengal half.
Midway through the first period the home team started getting into the game and its first real effort was a Lalrindika Ralte header from a Mehtab Hossain corner.
Churchill Brothers custodian Lalit Thapa was kept busy from crosses but rarely threatened from open play.
Shylo Malswamtluanga tested Thapa from outside the box but East Bengal’s best chance of the half fell to Edeh Chidi who couldn’t find the target after being played through by Malswamtluanga.
Both sides made early changes in the second half as Saran Singh replaced Alesh Sawant for Churchill Brothers while Armando Colaco introduced Harmanjot Khabra in place of Abhishek Das. But it remained a tight contest with very few clear cut opportunities.
Churchill’s Costa Rican striker Cristian Lagos had the Goan club’s best chance when he had a free header from a Balwant Singh cross, but the forward couldn’t hit the target.
East Bengal dominated possession in the second period and most of the play was in Churchill’s half in the final quarter of the game.
There will be two fixture on Wednesday. In the first, United SC will host Mumbai FC at 2:00pm, followed by a Pune FC versus Mohammedan Sporting clash at 6:30pm. (PTI)
