East Bengal rally from behind to beat Al Arabi 4-1 in extra time and reach AFC Champions League Two group stage
East Bengal recovered from a late deficit to defeat Kuwait's Al Arabi SC 4-1 after extra time at Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday, securing a place in the AFC Champions League Two group stage.
The new-look East Bengal side, coached by Antonio Lopez Habas, appeared headed for elimination after Anayo Iwuala converted a penalty in the 76th minute to put Al Arabi ahead with 14 minutes of regulation time remaining. Jay Gupta's equaliser in the 90th minute forced extra time, and East Bengal, who were missing Spanish centre-back Nacho Monsalve and fielded an all-Indian defence, produced three goals in added time to complete the turnaround. East Bengal qualified for the continental competition having won the Indian Super League last season, their first top-flight title in 22 years.
The first half was played at a high tempo with early chances for both sides: Zeid Qunbar dragged a shot wide in the fifth minute and Al Arabi goalkeeper Sulaiman Abdulghafoor saved a powerful attempt from Basim Rashid before blocking Jesin Thonikkara's curling effort. In the 23rd minute Kenean Maleko burst into the box and his effort looked destined for goal until Prabhsukhan Gill recovered to clear the ball from the goal line.
East Bengal carried momentum into the second half but missed a clear opportunity in the 50th minute when Jesin sprinted forward and cut the ball across to Bipin Singh, whose shot went wide after taking a touch. Al Arabi then took the lead in the 76th minute when Sandip Mandi was penalised for hauling Maleko down; Anayo Iwuala sent a low, powerful penalty into the bottom-left corner as Prabhsukhan Singh Gill went the right way but could not prevent the goal.
With time running out Al Arabi came close to a second goal when Yousef Majed glanced a header wide with 10 minutes remaining, but East Bengal pushed forward and secured a stoppage-time equaliser from Jay Gupta. Gupta rose to meet a Mohammed Rashid free-kick and headed past Abdulghafoor in the 90th minute to send the match into extra time.
Extra time belonged to East Bengal as captain Mohammed Rashid put the hosts ahead in the 108th minute, striking a half-volley with his laces from just outside the box to beat the goalkeeper. Substitute David Lalhlansanga added a second in extra time’s 117th minute with a composed finish inside the area after finding space in the box.
Rohit Danu completed the scoring in the first minute of stoppage time in extra time when David (Lalhlansanga) beat the goalkeeper and laid the ball across for Danu to tap into an empty net, sealing the 4-1 victory over the Kuwait Premier League runners-up.
East Bengal will now enter the West Region group stage of the AFC Champions League Two; the competition’s group phase comprises 16 teams playing a round-robin schedule with home-and-away fixtures.