Champions East Bengal held
by F C Kochin

Defending champions East Bengal failed to reverse their sliding fortunes at home as they were held to a 2-2 draw by a spirited F C Kochin in the National Football League at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata on Monday.

The home team, who had lost four matches in a row, raised hopes of arresting the losing trend as they led by a solitary goal till half time before the visitors bounced back to snatch a point.

Striker Dipendu Biswas put East Bengal in the lead as early as the 15th minute but the Kerala outfit changed the complexion of the game with two goals in quick succession through Koluthungan and E Mohammed.

The hard-working Jiten Rai restored parity for the home side in the 74th minute.

Desperate to regain their winning touch, East Bengal launched into the offensive straightaway by initiating a barrage of raids from both the flanks, keeping the rival defenders on tenterhooks for most part of the opening session.

East Bengal's new coach Subhas Bhowmick tried out a few new tricks but a few costly lapses by the defenders resulted in another disappointing show by the defending champions.

With this drawn encounter, East Bengal have 11 points from ten matches while F C Kochin have ten from as many outings.

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