Play-by-Play: Bengaluru bested at Barasat, Robin makes a roaring return, East Bengal announce themselves

THE SEEMINGLY UNSTOPPABLE winning run perpetuated by defending champions Bengaluru FC has been convincingly halted by East Bengal who came back from behind to claim a hard-fought 2-1 win at Barasat.

The game started with Bengaluru dictating things, and after some period of pressure it was them who drew the first blood. League leading scorer CK Vineeth continued his good form as he knocked one in from a peach of a cross from Eugeneson Lyngdoh. 

But Morgan's East Bengal imediately launched a comeback effort and it did not take long for them to draw level. Lalrindika's cross found Ivan Bukenya inside BFC box who made no mistake in the close range finish. 

Now ensued a heady battle of grit and guts as tensions flared on the pitch. Robin Singh, the former Bengaluru FC striker now playing for East Bengal, made an offence good enough for a red card when he whacked BFC defender John Johnson across the face off the ball but the referee didn't see it. Then Mehtab Hossain made a rash foul on Sunil Chhetri, leading to an altercation between the two that resulted in both getting sent off.

The second half was a nervy affair of back and forth action and Robin Singh started asserting his presence towards the final 20 minutes, making regular runs past Johnson and Junanan as well as hitting the woodwork.

But towards the end of the game he came through as a terrible defensive mistake allowed him to run straight into the box unattended with only Amrinder ahead and he smacked the ball into the net past the hapless keeper.

Bengaluru FC tried hard to salvage a draw but the final minutes saw true dominance from East Bengal. The Red and Golds kept pressing the Blues and made sure they gathered full 3 points from this game.

This is the maiden defeat for Bengaluru FC in this campaign, and it came in their first away game. While the defending champions are left licking their wounds over defensive lapses and individual mistakes, the Red and Golds have made themselves known as real title contenders, remaining unbeaten yet and ascending to the second place in the league table behind Mohun Bagan.

Here's how this memorable game unfolded, narrated in blow by blow detail in our real time match coverage.