CALCUTTA (India): Jaime Santos scored twice as East Bengal beat Neroca FC 4-1 at Khuman Lampak Stadium (Imphal) for their first win in I-League on Tuesday.
Jaime, who was adjudged as man of the match, converted twice from the spot while Juan Mera and Marcus Espada were the other goal-scorers.
Diara pulled one back for for the Oranges, but that wasn’t enough to delay the inevitable.
With this victory, East Bengal climbed to third place with five points from three matches while Neroca stayed on the seventh with three.
Punjab beat reigning champions Chennai City
In Ludhiana, Punjab FC overcame defending champions Chennai City 3-1 at the Guru Nanak Stadium.
The hosts took the lead through substitute Dipander Dicka in the 78th minute before Pedro Manzi equalized for the visitors in the 85th minute.
Punjab were rewarded for their sheer persistence, through late goals from Thoiba Singh and Sergio Barboza to register their first win in the tournament.
Punjab coach Yan Law made a host of changes from his side that drew 1-1 at home with East Bengal.
Anwar Ali returned to the line-up after having served his one-match suspension. Aser Dipanda Dicka started on the bench while Jason Hart returned to the eleven.
Mohun Bagan look for first win
Mohun Bagan will hope to look for their first win when they face debutants TRAU FC of Manipur at the Kalyani Stadium near here on Wednesday.
The hosts have just one point from two games while TRAU went down by a solitary goal to champions Chennai City FC in their debut match. Mohun lost 4-2 against two-time champions Churchill Brothers in the previous match.
Kashmir matches postponed
Real Kashmir club’s first two home matches against Gokulam Kerala on December 12 and Churchill Brothers on December 15 stands postponed due to the inclement weather, the AIFF said on their website.
New dates for the matches will be announced soon.
