KOZHIKODE (Kerala): Gokulam Kerala played out an entertaining 1-1 draw against East Bengal in the I-League at the EMS Corporate Stadium here on Tuesday.
Marcus Joseph broke the deadlock in the ninth minute before Victor Perez’s penalty in the 24th levelled the score.
The hosts went down to 10 men in the second half, before being reduced to nine players minutes before the full-time whistle. However, they showed great resilience to hold on.
Gokulam coach Fernando Santiago Valera showed faith in his XI that earned a point against Punjab and named an unchanged side for the evening while East Bengal coach Mario Rivera made two alterations — Gurwinder Singh replaced Asheer Akhtar at the back and Kassim Aidara made his return to the line-up.
Gokulam who came all guns blazing after kick-off and caught the visitors napping on a couple of occasions in the first 15 minutes. It took the hosts only nine minutes to go in front through skipper Marcus Joseph, who had a crack from just outside the box and found the back of the net.
Joseph kept on attacking East Bengal back-line and in the 11th minute almost doubled the advantage.
He ran the length of the East Bengal half with the ball and played a delightful give and go with Henry Kisekka, who did brilliantly with his return pass to put Joseph through. With only the keeper to beat, Joseph struck the woodwork.
The visitors found their way back into the game in the 24th minute, when Juan Mera’s mazy run was recklessly intercepted by Naocha Singh inside the box, conceding a penalty and his first yellow card of the game.
New signing Victor Perez stepped up for the spot-kick and converted successfully to restore parity for EB.
The tempo of the game dropped a couple of beats following the equaliser, as either side struggled to penetrate for the remainder of the half.
Marcos Jimenez De La Espada had a crack from distance, which wasn’t far away for a speculative strike but that’s how it remained going into the break, a goal apiece (1-1).
Gokulam made a horrendous start to the second half as they went down to 10-men. Naocha Singh was given his marching orders and was shown a second yellow and subsequently, a red card for yet another bookable offence. (Source: AIFF)
