Today at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, East Bengal FC played their AFC Champions League 2 preliminary round match against Turkmenistan’s club Altyn Asyr and lost with a close 3-2 scoreline.
East Bengal FC started the match with high pressing football. Within seven minutes, after a quick attack from the left wing, Nandha Kumar accurately passed the ball to David inside the box, close to the goal line. He took a shot, but it was deflected by the Altyn Asyr goalie and hit the post. David managed to capitalize on the deflection, bringing the first goal for East Bengal FC.
After that, Altyn Asyr seemed a bit scattered, but in the 17th minute, they found their equalizer through a strike from Myrat Annayev. In the 28th minute, they took the lead from a free kick. Souvik Chakraborty committed a foul near the 23-yard mark and received the first yellow card of the match. From the resulting free kick, Nurmyradov Selim scored a direct goal. The first half ended in favor of the Turkmenistan club.
In the second half, at the 52nd minute, Altyn Asyr FC netted their third goal. From the right side of the box, Myrat Annayev passed the ball to the far post, and Mihail Titov placed it into the net.
Within seven minutes, Saul Crespo scored a brilliant goal for East Bengal FC, bringing them back into contention. He skill-fully maneuverer between two players, entered the box, and placed the ball into the frame.
At the 69th minute, East Bengal FC built up an attack, but inside the box, when Altyn Asyr player Ruslan Tajiev tried to clear the ball, his shot almost went into the net but hit the crossbar, nearly resulting in an own goal. In the 80th minute, East Bengal FC’s substitute player Cleiton Silva scored a goal, but it was disallowed due to a foul. At the 89th minute, Madih Talal earned a free kick at the edge of the box. Silva took the free kick, sending the ball straight to the Altyn Asyr keeper, who fumbled it, but unfortunately, no EBFC player followed up, allowing the keeper to recover the ball.
In the second half, East Bengal FC looked very proactive. However, the match ended with a 3-2 scoreline, and Turkmenistan’s club Altyn Asyr secured the win.
