I-League 2017-18 MATCH REPORT -- A draw dampens both East Bengal and Aizawl's title hopes

KHALID JAMIL'S RETURN TO AIZAWL was unpleasant in all sorts of ways, and it ended with East Bengal dropping points in a 0-0 draw.

Both Aizawl FC and East Bengal came into this game chasing I-League table toppers Minerva Punjab FC in the title race, and to do that both clubs needed to get a win. And throughout the game, both teams left it all out there, playing an aggressive brand of football full of counter attacks and hard tackles.

It was the home team that got off early in the business of creating chances. Andrei Ionescu's ball offered Masih Saighani a chance to head it home but he missed, allowing Lalramchullova to clear it from the goal line. Then East Bengal got a free kick on the other end from scoring range that Ralte almost succeeded in getting past Aizawl keeper Avilash Paul, who pulled off a good save in the end.

The cards started coming out barely 10 minutes into the game. Laldanmawia Ralte literally lashed out at East Bengal keeper Luis Barreto with a kick and the referee booked him. 

The game continued at a high pace. Albert set up Alfred Jaryan after invading East Bengal box but the latter shot wide Then Aizawl FC had to defend hard to keep Katsumi Yusa's shot out.

25 minutes in, the game's first substitution happened when Khalid Jamil replaced young Prakash Sarkar with former Aizawl FC player Brandon Vanlalremdika. The next few minutes saw East Bengal create constant pressure on Aizawl defence with back to back set pieces but Avilash Paul stood tall through it all, then he made one of the saves of the season when he made a brilliant dive to deny Laldanmawia. Minutes later, Alfred Jaryan tested Luis Barreto with a superb long ranger that was low and powerful but the East Bengal keeper, too, succeeded in deflecting it out for a corner.

At half-time, Khalid Jamil replaced defender Arnab Mondal with Deepak Kumar. Things got off to a heated start when Lalramchullova put a cynical tackle on Dodoz which earned him a booking. Soon, Aizawl FC got their first yellow card too, with Masih Saighani going on the book, followed by Katsumi Yusa and Alfred Jaryan.

The match continued in fits and starts with loads of challenges and heated words being exchanged between the referee and Aizawl FC coach Paulo Menezes. Al-Amnah set up Brandon for a close range finish but Avilash Paul once again made a superb save to deny him. Then Dodoz got close to the East Bengal goal , set up Mapuia for a headed finish, but the latter missed.

Chances kept coming both ways till the last minute, but there was no break through. The game ended goalless. But the high voltage nature of the contest spoke volumes about how much it meant to both the clubs. 

Khalid Jamil seemed to be getting the worst of it. This draw means that East Bengal had won just 1 of their last 4 games, and now they were falling behind the league leaders. His success as a coach is likely to come under the scanner unless he delivers a win against Mohun Bagan on Sunday. But even the Aizawl FC fans and management were not very kind to him; the fans had a large banner calling him a traitor for leaving the club, and the Aizawl FC coach refused to shake his hand after the match.

East Bengal and Aizawl FC have wrapped up their battle this season, with two draws. Both being clubs with title aspirations, neither would be very satisfied with how things turned out. East Bengal are now on 19 points from 10 matches, and Aizawl FC are on 14 points from 8 matches, and both can see Minerva Punjab (22 points from 9 matches) slipping further away from them.

Both clubs are now under pressure to recover and get back to winning ways to keep their title dreams alive.

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