Action during the Bengal-Manipur tie, on Thursday.
Guwahati: Defending champions Bengal were held to a 2-2 draw by Manipur in a group A quarter final league match of the 65th Santosh Trophy at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.
Although Bengal were leading in the first half by two goals — scored by Branco Cardozo and Bikash Narzinary — Manipur staged a brilliant come back through goals from L Nabachandra Singh and S Herojit Singh. The match also had its own moments when Bengal players lost their cool when Mumtaj Akhtar was shown a red card and play was stopped for five minutes due to a voltage trip.
Branco Cardozo fetched the first goal for the defending champions in the 18th minute when his long strike caught Manipur goalkeeper L Prem Kumar Singh off-guard. Bengal further consolidated their lead in the 30th minute when Bikash Narzinary lobbed in a ball from just outside the box. Midfielder Mumtaj Akhtar ably assisted the goal by playing a long pass from the deep.
The 39-times Santosh trophy champion suffered a blow when Akhtar — already under a booking due to a tackle — was shown the second yellow card in the 43rd minute and given marching orders for ill demeanour on the pitch.
Manipur reduced the margin in the 69th minute when L Nabachandra Singh converted a freekick off L Thoiba Singh. S Herojit Singh struck the equaliser in the 82nd minute, heading in a ball that came off a rebound when Naseem Akhtar tried to fist away the former’s shot.
Bengal coach Shabbir Ali rued their missed opportunities. “The red card was atrocious. We also missed several opportunities in the second session. These are what I feel went wrong with us,” said Ali.
Manipur coach S Ekendra Singh said he is happy with his players’ performance. “Our strategy was to defend in the first session and go for the offensive in the second half. It is our style,” said Singh.
In another group A match, Chhattisgarh overcame a stiff challenge from Tamil Nadu to register a 3-2 win. Guman Shrestha, Azad Ali and Wasim Raja scored Chhattisgarh while M. Ramesh and S Sanjha Kumar reduced the margin for the southern state.