KOCHI: East Bengal were just minutes away from securing their first win of the Indian Super League only for Kerala Blasters to snatch a 1-1 draw in what was an enthralling game of football at the GMC Stadium in Bambolim on Sunday.
The Kolkata side had taken the lead in the 13th minute thanks to an own goal from Blasters centre-back Bakary Kone. But Blasters struck back in injury-time through substitute Jeakson Singh to leave East Bengal players shell shocked at the end of full time.
The result leaves both sides winless after six matches each but Blasters could take encouragement from the result as they managed to get something out of a game where they were moments away from what could have been a morale-shattering defeat.
Meanwhile, East Bengal attacker Anthony Pilkington who was the man of the match suggested that the result felt like a defeat, but on a positive note, the point helped them rise over Odisha FC in the table and occupy tenth place.
It was a frantic and open game with East Bengal dominating the first half and Kerala Blasters looking in control in the second. East Bengal coach Robbie Fowler decided to play Pilkington up front and he did a brilliant job of dragging the Blasters defenders out of position and creating spaces for his team-mates.
There was no hint of caution from either side even though both came into the game without a win and it was East Bengal who got the breakthrough early on.
A quick interchange of passes between the East Bengal frontline saw Mohammed Rafique slide a ball into the box. Kone deflected the ball into his own net while trying to clear it.
East Bengal kept pushing forward and created the better opportunities and 17-year-old debutant Tomba Singh nearly scored a stunner from 30-yards out as his swerving shot was parried away by Blasters goalkeeper Albino Gomes.
Blasters struggled to create any chances and their coach Kibu Vicuna decided to throw caution to the wind and made three substitutions including Sahal Abdul Samad and Jeakson Singh at half time and they proved to be the game changers for him.
In the second half, it was all one-way traffic as Blasters kept pushing forward. East Bengal had their goalkeeper Debjit Majumder to thank after he pulled off a blinder to deny Jordan Murray mid-way through the second half.
At the other end, as the clock was ticking down, Jacques Maghoma had a golden opportunity to secure all three points but his curling effort from inside the box was tipped away by Albino in the 87th minute. That proved to be a crucial moment in the game as Blasters kept pressing for an equaliser and won a corner when the game had gone into injury-time.
The ball fell to Sahal who floated it back into the danger area and Jeakson headed it past Debjit as they secured a crucial point and break East Bengal hearts.