East Bengal end winless run with 2-1 win over Jamshedpur

Margao (Goa), Feb 7 : East Bengal tasted victory for the first time in almost a month with Jamshedpur FC falling victims to a 2-1 win in Indian Super League’s (ISL) early kickoff at the Fatorda Stadium on Sunday.
While the Kolkata-based side jumped to 9th on the table with 16 points, Jamshedpur FC’s hopes of making the ISL playoffs were dealt with another blow, leaving them 7th, four points behind the playoff places.
Goals from Matti Steinmann (6 mins) and Anthony Pilkington (68 mins) secured the victory for East Bengal. A late goal from Peter Hartley (83 mins) proved to be a mere consolation for Jamshedpur.
East Bengal got off to the best start possible with Steinmann putting them ahead in the sixth minute. An early attack ended with Stephen Eze putting the ball out for a corner. Narayan Das took it and eluded the entire Jamshedpur defence and was glanced in by Steinmann. Any hopes Jamshedpur had of extending their run of three straight clean sheets came to an early end.
Owen Coyle’s men had scored just one goal from open play in their previous four encounters. As they attempted to get a fight-back off the ground, it was visible why. Whatever moves that their midfielders were able to string together ended abruptly in the final third with Jamshedpur’s attackers able to get into good positions. With East Bengal dominating possession and defending well, Jamshedpur finished the half with zero shots on target. Nerijus Valskis, in particular, cut a frustrated figure often dropping down into midfield in search of the ball.
The Kolkata side started the second half as they had the first, with a freekick in a dangerous area. Steinmann again lost his marker and got into a good position but missed the ball by a whisker.