Kolkata: Al Ittihad of Syria rode on a
double strike by Abdulfatah Alagha and pumped in two goals in
the dying minutes to drub East Bengal 4-1 in their Group
D AFC Cup opening match at the Salt Lake stadium here on Wednesday.
The win helped the Syrian outfit climb to the top spot in
their group ahead of Al Nejmeh of Lebanon and Al Qadsia of
Kuwait who have one point each.
It was a pathetic performance by East Bengal as they let
in two goals in the closing minutes through Syrian national
team player Alagha (89th) and Obaid Al Ali Alsalal (90+1st) to
register the thumping win.
Yusif Yakubu scored through a penalty in the 56th minute
to help East Bengal reduce the margin.
Ranked No 10th in their local Syrian league, Al Ittihad
drew first blood through Otobong Ene Edet Otudor in the
seventh minute, before Alagha scored in the 28th minute as
they went into the break with an 2-0 lead.
Having conceded two goals, the red-and-gold brigade,
playing in front of their home crowd, pulled up their socks
with some spirited efforts by captain Syed Rahim Nabi,
inspirational Indian skipper Bhaichung Bhutia who was
supported by Abel Hammond.
But their efforts were not enough as the Syrian defence
stood tall while their captain Yasser Jarkas dishing out a
superb performance under the bar to deny East Bengal of a goal
in the first-half.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 21:04