Sunil Chhetri was MoM

Ludhiana: In East Bengal camp, JCT have always been regarded as a hard nut to crack. On many an occasion, the Phagwara outfit has put paid to East Bengal’s plans. On Thursday, however, luck favoured the red-and-gold brigade. East Bengal, under the first foreign coach Philippe De Ridder, tamed JCT in their own den, thanks to the home team’s own goal.

The goal was nowhere there, yet it proved to be the turning point of the encounter. In the ninth minute, East Bengal’s Cameroon recruit Guy Ndem aimed a hopeful shot at the JCT goal. The ball was going wide off the target when the JCT defender Narinder tried to clear it. The ball deflected off his boots and went into the goal.

With three wins and three draws, East Bengal now have 12 points from six outings in the National Football League for ONGC Cup. JCT remained on five points.

In the match, JCT clearly enjoyed more ball possession than their rivals. Baldeep Singh and Marcos Perreira created a number of moves but the equaliser eluded them. Sunil Chhetri was adjudged Man of the Match, but he, too, missed gilt-edged chances.

Though distinctly lucky, East Bengal will certainly get a morale-booster ahead of their crucial tie against Mahindra United.

The JCT manager Sukhwinder Singh later said: “It was a kind of situation I never faced in my long football career. I am still at a loss to find out how the ball got into our net.”

Yakubu brace

A double strike by Yusif Yakubu guided Mahindra United to their fourth win as they defeated Salgaocar 2-1 in another match in Margao on Thursday. Mahindra are one point clear of East Bengal.