MoM CS Sabeeth

Calcutta: East Bengal coach Philippe de Ridder won’t be amused by this piece of statistic. At the end of their 26-match I-League campaign, the red and gold brigade are found to have scored just 27 goals — one less than Sporting Clube de Goa, a club who are on the verge of relegation.

What has hurt East Bengal right from the start of the season hasn’t really changed much as the home team Thursday played out a 1-1 draw in their final match against Viva Kerala at the Howrah Municipal Stadium.

East Bengal finished the championship with 31 points from 26 games while Viva Kerala ended with 30 points from as many outings.

Thursday was another saga of missed chances. Whether it be Bhaichung Bhutia’s header missing the target by a whisker or Syed Rahim Nabi’s inability to tap the ball into an open goal, East Bengal muffed chances galore.

So, it wasn’t surprising when the Kerala outfit went ahead in the 10th minute. C.S. Sabeeth made the most of his chance on being allowed a free header by the stopper duo of Uga Okpara and Nirmal Chhetri after C. Sirajuddin played in a cross from the right.

East Bengal have, of late, shown a penchant for coming from behind and, on Thursday, equalised within seven minutes.

It was Abel Hammond who sent in a low cross from the right. Nabi’s spanking low drive ricocheted off Viva goalie Sahinlal Meloly and the rebound was slotted home by Budiram Tudu.

After that it was East Bengal all the way. However, a couple of moves from the Belgian coach, as usual, baffled one and all. First, he introduced, not for the first times this season, Bhaichung Bhutia after 29 minutes in place of Budiram who was getting into the groove after getting his name on the scoresheet.

Second was the decision to use Alvito on the wide right although the Goan was a shadow of his old self.