Alvito D’Cunha

New Delhi: East Bengal stunned Jordanian powerhouse Al Wihdat 2-0 in their AFC Cup away match in Zarqa near Amman Wednesday to jump to the top of group B.

Alvito D’Cunha (58th minute) and Nigerian import Ike Ibe Gift (69th) found the target for the Calcutta giants to tame the Jordan League champions at Prince Mohammed stadium.

India international goalkeeper Subrata Paul played a major role for the Federation Cup champions to notch up their second successive win in the competition by pulling off at least four brilliant saves.

For D’Cunha, who scored the goal with a 350-yard shot, this was a rarest ever win for an Indian team in West Asia. “In the first half, our goalie (Subrata Paul) played really well. In the second half, however, we probably played our best match of the season,” he said.

East Bengal had lost 0-1 to Safa FC of Lebanon in their campaign opener before beating Ahli Sana’a of Yemen by a solitary goal at home. With six points from three matches, the red-and-gold outfit are on top of the four-team group.

Safa, who drew 0-0 with Ahli Sana’a in another match in Yemen Wednesday, have five points from three matches with two draws and a win.

Al Wihdat and Ahli Sana’a brought up the rear on identical two points from three matches as the group stage of Asia’s second tier club competition reached the halfway mark.

East Bengal are now in a strong position to advance into the quarter finals and emulate their 2004 counterparts.

Paul was in action as early as the eighth minute when he deflected an Issa Al Sapah’s shot for a corner while Rafat Ali shot over the crossbar one minute later.

The home side was denied in the 14th minute again when Mohammed Abdallah’s close-range shot was tipped over the bar by Paul while at the other end East Bengal striker Edmilson shot went wide.

The best chance for Al Wihdat came five minutes before the break when Shelbaieh broke into the left side of the box before passing to the unmarked Issa Al Sapah, whose shot was blocked by East Bengal defender Debabrata Roy.

East Bengal got their feet in the second-half with Edmilson leading the attack and Wihdat goalkeeper Mahmoud Qandil had to come to his side’s rescue to save an Edmilson free kick in the 53rd minute.

East Bengal doubled their advantage in the 69th minute when Gift was given space to work into the rival box before dumping the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.

East Bengal play the same opponents at home on April 16 before taking on Safa, also at home, and Ahli Sana’a in Yemen on April 30 and May 14 respectively.