Kingfisher East Bengal’s Tolgay Ozebe against Pailan Arrows. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Pailan Arrows scripted a tactical victory over Kingfisher East Bengal as the latter were forced to settle for a goalless draw in the 10th round match of the I League, at the Salt Lake Stadium, here, on Sunday.

The red and gold brigade came into this match on a high, after brushing aside Dempo on Thursday, but failed to seize the initiative against a young, enthisiastic yet inexperienced Arrows. As expected the developmental side of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), entered the game with a defensive mindset, and more often than not, had nine players behind the ball, content with playing on the break.

The match, which was anything but a visual spectacle, began promisingly for Morgan’s men. Tolgay Ozebe sent in a teasing cross, as early as in the third minute, only to be well intercepted by goalkeeper Naveen Kumar. Six minutes later, 18-year old Seiminlen Doungel, who otherwise had a quiet afternoon, headed a Resangmi Vashum cross straight into Kumar’s arms. Vashum, too, had a forgettable afternoon and was substituted in the second half.

Tolgay had his moments, getting into promising positions, but squandered away numerous opportunities to score.

In the 17th minute, he headed a Vashum cross over the bar and in the 28th minute, the Australian missed a glorious opportunity, after Penn Orji’s inch perfect pass left him one-on-one with Kumar. In the dying seconds of the first half, Tolgay was brilliantly dispossessed by right-back Rajib Ghosh in the penalty box. Most of East Bengal’s attacks originated from the right flank. The build-ups were intricate, but the end result was disappointing.

East Bengal began the second half with aplomb, stretching the Arrows’ defence but failed to create anything significant.

Nirmal Chetri headed a Naoba Singh free-kick over the bar, early in the second half, while Tolgay, created a flurry of opportunities, midway into the second half, but failed to score.

In the 63rd minute, Mehtab Hussein attempted a shot from near the halfway mark.

By then, the frustration had started to find expression in some scrappy football. Possession was lost easily, Vashum, Naoba and Sanju Pradhan struggled with their deliveries, and the usually feisty Penn Orji looked out of sorts.

As East Bengal took the foot off the pedal, left winger Jiban Singh missed a glorious opportunity to cause a major upset, when his shot was palmed away by a diving Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. As the game started to open up, Naoba almost scored a spectacular, albeit unintentional goal, when his cross flirted with the Arrows’ keeper and the crossbar.

The match ended in controversy, when East Bengal claimed that Calrozama Fanai had handled the ball in the penalty box. The referee, however, blew the final whistle.

This was Pailan’s fourth consecutive draw in the ongoing edition and they now move to 6 points from 10 matches while East Bengal have 20 from 10 matches.

TEAMS

East Bengal: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu; Naoba Singh, Uga Okpara, Nirmal Chetri, Saumik Dey (Robert Lalthlamuana 90), Reisangmi Vashum (Sushanth Mathew 58), Mehtab Hussain, Penn Orji, Sanju Pradhan (Ravinder Singh 69), Tolgay Ozebe (Sanju Pradhan 74), Seiminlen Doungel (Baljit Sahni 54).

Arrows: Naveen Kumar, Rajiv Ghosh, Calrozama Fanai, Gurtej Singh, Shouvik Ghosh, Avinabo Bag, Kh. Jibon Singh, Ongnam Milan Singh (Loukik Dilip Jadhav 71), Bikramjit Singh (Sehnaj Singh 58), C.S. Sabeeth, Holicharan Narzary (Gurtej Singh 78).

Referee: Yaima Singh.

Man of the Match: Naveen Kumar