I-League: Mohun Bagan hold East Bengal

Kingfisher East Bengal and McDowells Mohun Bagan played out a 1-1 draw in the 19th round I-League clash played at the Yuba Bharati Krinangan, in Kolkata on Saturday.

The draw ensured that both teams are still very much in the fray for the title.

The match started after a minutes silence was observed for the Egypt football stadium tragedy that took place earlier this week.

For East Bengal, Robin Singh started upfront with Tolgay Ozbey while for Mohun Bagan it was Sunil Chhetri and Odafa Okolie.

Right from the kick off, one could make out both teams felt the nerves, even as Haramjoot Khabra flew in with a challenge on Hudson Lima but escaped with a yellow card.

The first chance fell to Sunil Chhetri who took a shot from the edge of the box but it sailed over the crossbar.

The first 25 minutes were all about possession for red and gold. In the 29th minute Robin Singh headed down a free kick for Tolgay Ozbey who misdirected his shot and could not capitalise.

However, in the 33rd minute Haromjeet Khabra played a delightful pass to Robin Singh to which he latched onto it, to finish it with his right foot and gave East Bengal a 1-0 lead.

Just two minutes into the second half, Odafa Okolie dribbled past Mehtab Hussain and struck a shot which deflected into the East Bengal goalmouth and led the mariners to restore parity.

After the equaliser both the teams kept trying without any success. The scoreline remained same till the full time.

East Bengal now have 35 points from 19 matches while Mohun Bagan are just a point behind from 19 outings.