East Bengal picked up its fourth win by downing Chennaiyin FC by a solitary goal in the Indian Super League at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Monday.
Nandhakumar Sekar came to the team’s aid once again as he found the net midway through the second half to secure the full quota of points for EBFC, which tallied 18 points from 16 matches to move to the eight spot in the current standings.
Chennaiyin FC remained on 15 points after its 16th outing of the tournament.
Needing a win to remain in the contest for a top-six place and keep the possibility of reaching the knock-out stage open, EBFC appeared to be losing its plot against a more organised CFC in the first half. The visitor created more openings in the first half but its attackers Rahim Ali, Jordan Murray, and Farukh Choudhary, who shared a few good chances, could not convert them.
EBFC coach Carlos Cuadrat tried to alter the situation after the break by introducing three changes and that got the host back in the game as one of the substitutes P.V. Vishnu provided the impetus to launch effective attacks.
Keeping on the momentum, Nandhakumar finally got the break in the 65th minute when he got at the end of a long cross from the left and responded with a powerful grounder that took a deflection off Chennaiyin defender Bikash Yumnam to find its way in.
The result:
East Bengal FC 1 (Nandhakumar 65) bt Chennaiyin FC 0.
