East Bengal’s Early Lead Squandered in 2-1 Defeat to Odisha FC

Sayak Banerjee / 01-03-2024

East Bengal’s familiar woes of failing to maintain a lead resurfaced as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Odisha FC. Despite a promising start, coach Carles Cuadrat’s absence due to a card issue left assistant coach Dimas Delgado in charge. East Bengal also missed defender Hijazi Maher for the same reason.
The match saw an explosive start with PV Vishnu scoring just 33 seconds in, courtesy of an assist from Alexander Pantic. This marked the fastest goal of the current ISL season and the fifth fastest in ISL history. Vishnu’s first career goal in the ISL, however, didn’t ensure a memorable match for East Bengal.
Odisha FC equalized in the 40th minute. After a series of attacks, Diego Mauricio was fouled in the box by Mohammed Rakip, resulting in a penalty that Mauricio converted.

In the second half, East Bengal brought on Mahesh Naorem Singh and Shouvik Chakraborty to inject pace and energy into their attack. Although goalkeeper Amrinder Singh had little to do in the first half, he was called into action twice in the second, saving two crucial shots.

Odisha sealed the game in the 75th minute when Princeton Rebello scored from an Ahmed Jahouh corner. Despite attempts to intensify their offense, including substitutions like Nandhakumar and Harmanjot Singh Khabra, East Bengal couldn’t find the equalizer. Khabra’s perfect cross in stoppage time was punched away by Amrinder, denying Felicio Brown a scoring chance.
To add to East Bengal’s woes, Ajay Chhetri received a card and will miss the next match. The loss leaves East Bengal reflecting on missed opportunities and the challenge of overcoming their persistent issue of maintaining leads.