The Hindu : Sport / Football : East Bengal back to winning ways

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Sunday, Oct 19, 2008
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East Bengal back to winning ways

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: Kingfisher East Bengal rode Yusuf Yakubu’s skills to return to winning ways in the I-League. The Ghanaian forward, who is on loan from Salgaocar SC, struck once in each session to see the home side get the better of Goa’s Vasco SC 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Saturday evening.

The win helped East Bengal gain vital points after losing the last two rounds.

Injuries to key players had put the former champion in a spot. Yakubu’s promotion seemed to inject some spirit in the team, which has been struggling to find the right combination off the bench.

East Bengal began on a brisk note. Yakubu slotted home a defence-splitting pass from centre-half Mehrajuddin Wadoo giving East Bengal the lead in the sixth minute of the match.

The home side earned numerous other chances in the first session but failed to increase the margin owing to the profligacy of its attackers. Chhetri found himself in easy scoring situations on at least three occasions but could not find the direction and power.

East Bengal escaped with the errors of its strikers as Vasco, playing three recruits from Uzbekistan, could hardly string together a proper response.

The second session was even more lacklustre as East Bengal continued to attack and miss. Yakubu finally put an end to the sequence of finishing errors slotting home the second goal in the last minute of the match.

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