East Bengal wrestled back their three-point lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 2-0 win against Mumbai at the Barasat Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday with Willis Plaza scoring two goals in the space of seven first half minutes.
The first half was played at a frenetic pace with both sides taking operating through the attack route. Much of East Bengal’s attacks flowed through Plaza, who could have easily added more to his two goals. The home side showed their defensive prowess in the second half, but still showed plenty of bite going forward.
Mumbai pinned their hopes on Thoi Singh to provide the drive and energy in attack. Singh had a good game and had the East Bengal defenders worried on a couple of occasions. However, for large parts of the game, the away side rarely tested the Kolkata-based side’s defence when it came to goal-mouth chances.
In the second half, Mumbai resorted to long-range efforts and Singh came close with a cracking effort around the hour mark. Late in the game, Plaza was presented with a glorious opportunity in the box from substitute Romeo Fernandes’ cross, only for it to go begging. Mumbai lie at sixth in the table.
Brief scores
East Bengal 2 (Willis Plaza x 2) beat Mumbai FC 0