Play-by-Play: East Bengal fall prey to the Churchill winning streak at home in major title race upset

DERRICK PEREIRA'S BOYS made it 3 out of 3, as their emphatic comeback campaign reached a fever pitch when they tamed the league leaders East Bengal at their own backyard.

Capitalizing on early defensive mistakes as key East Bengal defender Evan Bukenya had an off day, goals from Anthony Wolfe and Kromah allowed the visitors to go 0-2 up in the first half. 

But East Bengal regained the control of the game when they brought Willis Plaza, who missed a couple of games due to injury, back into action. In the second half they dominated possession, created multiple opportunites, but other than Christopher Payne's 67 minute strike failed to convert them into goal. 

In a major upset to their title charge, East Bengal lost the match 1-2 to Churchill Brothers.

Thanks to their back to back 3 wins under new head coach Derrick Pereira, Churchill are now on 15 points from 13 matches, sitting 6th on the league table, far away from the relegation spot. East Bengal, meanwhile, suffered their second loss in the campaign; and though they are still league leaders with 27 points from 13 matches, Aizawl FC (26 from 12) and Mohun Bagan (21 from 10) now have yet another opportunity to catch up with them.

Here's how this extremely tense encounter unfolded, narrated through our real time match updates...