Mohammedan Sporting Club and East Bengal Club played out a 1-1 draw in a pre-season friendly match played at the Howrah Stadium on Friday.

East Bengal drew the first blood through Mohammed Rafique. However, there is some controversy surrounding the goal as Jiten Murmu dragged the ball from at least 10-inches outside the touch line before playing it for Narayan who set up Rafique to head the opener in the 33rd minute.

The score read 1-0 for East Bengal at the break.

Mohammedan SC looked more purposeful in the second half. The attacking trio of Leonce Dodoz, Manvir Singh and Dipendu Dowary ran riot against a formidable East Bengal defense. The East Bengal citadel lived dangerously as Manvir and Dipankar Das missed back to back chances to equalize in a span of three minutes.

After several missed chances, Mohammedan SC’s efforts finally bore fruit when Dodoz equalised in the 63rd minute. Dowary ran past his marker on the right side and played the ball for Manvir whose effort was blocked by East Bengal defender Callum Angus, but Dodoz, who was at the right place at the right time, made no mistake in slotting the rebound home.

Thereafter, Mohammedan Sporting had few more chances to score the winner but East Bengal defended strongly to hold the Black Panthers for a 1-1 draw.

STARTING LINE-UPS

Mohammedan Sporting Club
Vinay Singh; Nitesh Chhikara, Rana Gharami, Lancine Toure, Kamran Farooque, Dipendu Dowray, Mumtaz Akhtar, Dipankar Das, Imarn Khan, Manvir Singh, Leonce Dodoz

East Bengal Club
Luis Barreto; Samad Ali Mallick, Callum Angus, Gurwinder Singh, Narayan Das, Avinash Ruidas, Mehtab Hossain, Mohammed Rafique, Do Dong Hyun, Lalrindika Ralte, Jiten Murmu

(Mohammedan Sporting Club Press Release)