Play-by-Play: Aizawl FC hold East Bengal to a draw atBarasat as I-League kicks off with an upset

A SPIRITED AIZAWL FC pulled off an upset right at the beginning of the I-League 2016-17 season by holding East Bengal off to a 1-1 draw at Barasat.

Khalid Jamil came into the game with a specific plan in mind, playing a heavy defence to contain the Red and Golds' attackers. 

The plan seemed to be working early on as the home team seemed to be mostly contained in the first half and Aizwl even created a number of good chances. But they got lucky towards the end of the period when Gurwinder Singh's attempted clearance evaded Rehenesh and went straight into the net.

Down by a goal, East Bengal sought an emphatic start to the second half but it was Aizawl who started out strong. But the home team got their groove back when Willis Plaza and Bukenya were introduced on the pitch. They created repeated chances and kept Aizawl on their toes defending corners and set pieces, but keeper Albino Gomes made some smart collections and a dense Aizawl defend held onto the lead till the last minutes of the game, when Bukenya finally headed home from a Mehtab Hossain corner.

Aizawl FC coach Khalid Jamil will be happy with this result, as East Bengal are being seen as one of the teams to beat this season. The Red and Gold coach, on the other hand, clearly needs to sort out his defence. 

Here's how the match went down, narrated in detail through our real time coverage of the game.