East Bengal Ekes Out a Draw From the Jaws of Victory Against Al Hussein in Their First Game at the AFC Champions League

Xtra Time Newsdesk: A one goal lead in football is always dangerous. Your team might control the game but one wrong step might lead to unintended consequences. Ask East Bengal today and they would impart the same lesson as written above. Till the last 5 minutes of regulation time, they were 2-1 up but one mistake costed them the game.

Despite the result, the Lal-Holud Brigade can take solace in the fact that they weren't favourites to draw this game(let alone win it). Yet, they defied all odds and presented a magnificent first half performance. No East Bengal fan thought that their team would be two up at halftime but that's exactly what happened.

Despite a not so promising start, East Bengal scored their first in the ninth minute through a rebound scored by Danny Ramirez. A shot by Edmund Lalrindika was fumbled by goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila which allowed Ramirez to break the deadlock.

From then on, the Lal Holud brigade began to grow into the game with Al Hussein scrambling to get one back in the 1st half. But, it was East Bengal again who scored and this time, it was hometown hero Anwar Ali who decided to double the lead.

At halftime, it looked the team from India might just get those 3 points and create history but the team from Jordan decided to spoil those plans during the 2nd half.

A defensive error from Hardik Bhatt allowed Al Hussein to come into the game during the 61st minute. A brilliant finish from Mahmoud Al Mardi pulled one back for the opposition. Bhatt failed to make a routine interception, allowing Mahmoud Khrouba to collect the ball on the left flank. He drove it into the box and then Al Mardi slid in to score the goal.

Things were still looking for East Bengal till disaster struck during the last three minutes of the game. Al Hussein winger Obieda Al Namarnah delivered a perfect cross into the box and then, Ahmed Assaf (with a well timed run) scored the equaliser for the Jordanian team. From then on, Al Hussein pushed for a winner but thankfully, there wasn't enough time to score one.

East Bengal eked out a draw from the jaws of victory but, even with this result, there were lots of positives. The main one being that they fielded a starting XI filled with Indian players. They performed exceptionally well and matched their West Asian counterparts physically and technically. A lot of credit should also be given to coach Antonio Lopez Habas. He prepared this side well enough to match a team like Al Hussein.

At the end of the day, while the players and fans might be disappointed with this result, East Bengal will always look back on this day and think that they gave their all against an A tier Asian side.