KOLKATA: A first start of the season in East Bengal jersey for Cleiton Silva. A first goal, rather a pair of goals, for him as well. A first win against Hyderabad FC too.
It was a tale of many 'firsts' at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday as East Bengal came back from a goal down to get the better of Thongboi Singto's visitors 2-1, thanks to a brace from the imperious Cleiton.
Hitesh Sharma put Hyderabad FC ahead in the 8th minute. But Cleiton --- given a start by coach Carles Cuadrat for the first time after being used as a sub in the past five matches across all tournaments --- swooped on an opportunity to level the scoreline within a couple of minutes.
The Brazilian then turned the game-changer, notching up the winner with an exquisitely-taken free-kick two minutes into the stoppage time, the ball beating the goalkeeper Anuj Kumar all ends up and going in after hitting the underside of the crosspiece.
East Bengal's win after being held 0-0 by Jamshedpur FC in their opening match was also their first against Hyderabad FC in eight meetings across all tournaments.
Despite their delayed start to the league, Singto's visitors showed little signs of early-season rustiness. When Hitesh --- who had had a three-year stint with ATK before moving to Hyderabad in 2020-2021 --- took full advantage of East Bengal's defensive disorganization to draw the first blood.
Working his way from the left, Joe Knowles took a goal-bound shot but it was deflected off Sovuk Chakraborty's legs. As East Bengal defenders were looking clueless in dealing with the danger, Hitesh found himself at the right place at the right time to push it in from close.
Stung by the reversal, East Bengal responded immediately. Borja Herrara failed to control a long cross from the right under the challenge of HFC defender Nim Dorjee Tamang and Cleiton pounced on the rebound to make it 1-1.
Hyderabad lost their first-choice goal Laxmikanth Kattimani to a challenge from Cleiton just before the first half.
Yet, Hyderabad looked dangerous on the break, Knowles drawing a diving save from East Bengal custodian Prabhsukhan Gill in the 82nd minute.
Substitute Javier Siverio then saw his header miss the target by a whisker before Cleiton delivered the coup d'état from the free-kick earned by Siverio just outside the box.
Hyderabad forward Aaren D Silva could have dealt a one final blow to East Bengal's joy but the second-half substitute horrendously missed his chance, shooting straight at the goalkeeper from inside the box.
In the end, it was East Bengal's day. It was Cleiton's day too, announcing his arrival in the season.
