Seven minutes into injury time of the second half and with the scoreline reading 1-1, East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill made the save of the season. Probably the most important of his life, too.
Jamie Maclaren latched onto a Jason Cummings centre and the former’s push had goal written on it. The Bagan fans behind the goalpost rose to celebrate, and so did the bench. But Gill had other ideas. He stretched himself out and made a sensational save with his left leg.
Maclaren could not believe it. East Bengal players rushed to congratulate the goalkeeper. Soon, the final whistle was blown.
The final scoreline in the derby clash of ISL-12 — a pulsating match between the two arch-rivals after quite a few years — at the Salt Lake Stadium remained 1-1.
The league has gone to the last day, Thursday.
Edmund Lalrindika gave East Bengal the lead in the 85th minute. East Bengal’s joy, however, was shortlived as Jason Cummings made it 1-1 within minutes. East Bengal thus have to keep waiting for their first derby win in the ISL.
East Bengal’s weakness when it comes to set-pieces once again became glaring under the lights. They had conceded an injury-time equaliser against Kerala Blasters from a set-piece on March 14. It was deja vu on Sunday.
“True. I am not happy with the way we deal with set-pieces. Imagine had we not conceded that goal against Kerala (Blasters) and today, we would have become champions,” rued coach Oscar Bruzon at the post-match news conference.
As things stand, both teams are on 23 points from 12 matches. East Bengal will need three points against Inter Kashi at Kishore Bharati Krirangan on Thursday to win their first national-level league title in 22 years.
Bagan not only have to win their last match against Sporting Club Delhi at the Salt Lake Stadium, but also by a margin of six or more goals. That’s because East Bengal have a goal difference of plus-five.
If both the Calcutta sides draw against their respective rivals, two teams can make the most of it. If Mumbai City, who have 22 points from 12 matches, beat Punjab FC, they will emerge as champions. And if they lose, Punjab FC, also on 22 points from 12 games, will lift the title.
Right now, though, it’s East Bengal’s title to lose. They have a clear advantage over the other title chasers. Those seven goals against Mohammedan Sporting on March 23 have come in handy for Bruzon’s men.
“We need to win and East Bengal too have to. If they do not, the goal difference doesn’t come into the picture at all. What we need to do is to fight till the end. It’s not the ideal scenario for us. We need to believe because it’s possible,” Bagan coach Sergio Lobera tried to sound positive.
East Bengal thought they had all but won the ISL title when substitute Lalrindika beat Bagan keeper Vishal Kaith with a smart placement. The supporters went wild, and an excited Lalrindika put his team shirt on the corner flag and hoisted it for the fans.
Within five minutes, Bagan restored parity. Dimitri Petratos floated in a corner, Cummings rose above his diminutive marker Bipin Singh and his header went into the far post. One-all.
In the injury time, Lalrindika was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Both teams missed quite a few chances. Sahal Abdul Samad’s poor first touch early in the match allowed East Bengal to escape.
Bipin Singh’s hesitation inside the box denied East Bengal a chance to take the lead. Anton Sojberg’s shot hit the far post after a deflection off Bagan defender Tom Aldred.
