Taking the field as a late second-half substitute, Khangembam Bidyashagar Singh created one and finished one to help East Bengal down a 10-man Army Red 2-0 in a group A league match of the 129th Durand Cup, here at its home ground on Saturday.
The quicksilver forward, introduced in the 78th minute, made the difference as East Bengal tried desperately to break the deadlock with a draw appearing imminent.
The goal route opened in the 85th minute after Bidyashagar was unfairly brought down by the Army goalkeeper Muhammed Shanoos, who rushed out of the box to commit the foul. Shanoos received marching orders as East Bengal’s Spanish striker Jaime Santos stepped up to score from the resultant free-kick. Bidyashagar put his name on the scoresheet in the first minute of injury time when he tapped home a cross from right-back Samad Ali Mallick.
Making its first outing of the season, East Bengal looked rusty at the start and struggled to find cohesion against the tough-playing Army side. The initial quarter saw Army Red calling the shots, but it failed to convert the chances in absence of a good finisher. East Bengal began to find rhythm the in the second quarter of the action but the woodwork came in the way twice to deny Santos and Boithang, who made the attempts in the 23rd and 29th minutes respectively.
The change of ends did not improve the situation for East Bengal, which found the armymen too good in defence. Santos had another chance in the 71st minute but he failed to keep his header on target. East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez brought in Bidyashagar as his final replacement and the decision worked well for the home side, which got two goals in the final six minutes.
The result: East Bengal 2 (Jaime Santos 85, Khangembam Bidyashagar Singh 90+1) bt Army Red 0 .
