Mohammed Rafique took East Bengal to the top of the I-League with a spectacular goal against Gokulam Kerala FC, who played with 10 men after the 54th minute when Rohit Mirza was shown a straight red card for a kick on Katsumi Yusa’s knee.
After six games, East Bengal have 13 points, the same as Minerva Punjab FC, but moved on top by virtue of a better goal difference of +6. Minerva FC, who lost to defending champions Aizawl FC 1-2 earlier on Wednesday, have a goal difference of +4.
At the Salt Lake Stadium, Rafique fired a scrumptious right-footer from 20 yards in the 44th minute that bulged the back of the net but the goal happened from a corner-kick Gokulam Kerala FC conceded under little pressure. Left-back Santu Singh’s effort to flick the ball for a throw-in ended up in him shinning it for a corner-kick.
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Syrian Mahmoud Al-Amna’s delivery was then cleared only as far as Rafique and he banged home after the ball bounced twice. Rafique played in front of the back four but was given the freedom to move up and that, for a player who has often been slotted in central midfield or wide and occasionally as a forward, gave East Bengal an extra option in attack. Rafique’s tackles weren’t always clean but on the night East Bengal made it four successive wins it didn’t cause them too much grief.
{{/usCountry}}Syrian Mahmoud Al-Amna’s delivery was then cleared only as far as Rafique and he banged home after the ball bounced twice. Rafique played in front of the back four but was given the freedom to move up and that, for a player who has often been slotted in central midfield or wide and occasionally as a forward, gave East Bengal an extra option in attack. Rafique’s tackles weren’t always clean but on the night East Bengal made it four successive wins it didn’t cause them too much grief.
{{/usCountry}}In the 14th minute, Rafique, whose consistency for East Bengal last season got noticed by India coach Stephen Constantine, had tried a cheeky back-volley, again following a corner-kick, because he was alert to Gokulam Kerala FC goalie Bilal Khan being in no man’s land. Khan was indecisive everytime East Bengal forced a corner-kick.
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With Khaled Alsaleh out injured in the ninth minute after contact with Rafique, the possibility of a Syrian contest was snuffed out. That of an Ivorian sibling rivalry was a non-starter with Bazie Armand on the East Bengal bench and though his brother Bayi Kamo caused the home team some heartburn, he too was injured and out by the 48th minute.
A foul on Kamo by Charles de Souza had Alsaleh’s replacement Francis Moubourou banging into the horizontal from 25 yards in the 16th minute. Soon after, a Kamo effort from a goalkick had Eduardo Ferreira getting a leg in and conceding a corner-kick after skipper Arnab Mondal had again been beaten. Off another set-piece, Moubourou hit the side-netting and that was the closest Gokulam FC came to scoring. Immune to relegation, they stay on four points from five games and in eighth place.