A spirited ten men Kingfisher East Bengal lose to Kazma SC of Kuwait by 1-2 margin after a gallant fight in their last group match of AFC Cup played today afternoon at Salt Lake Stadium.

Ismail Al Azmi gave Kuwaiti side the lead in the 7th minute but Brazilian striker Edmilson Marques restored parity for the red & golds in the 17th minute. In the 34th minute East Bengal were reduced to ten men  as Saikat Saha Roy was sent off after a double booking.

Mashari Al Azmi scored the winner for Kazma in the 90th minute of play.

AFC Match Report

Kazma  enjoyed an excellent start in Kolkota as Al Ajmi fired a powerful low shot from the edge of the East Bengal box past goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh after only seven minutes.

But East Bengal were back on level terms 12 minutes later. Robert Lalthalma surged down the right and fired in a shot which was well stopped by Kazma goalkeeper Shehab Kankone.  However, Edmilson got to the loose ball and tucked away his second goal of the competition.

East Bengal were looking to pick up their first points in Group B after losing all five of their previous games. But they suffered a huge setback in the 35th minute when Saikat Saha Roy received his marching orders after he was shown his second yellow card for a lunging challenge on Al Ajmi.

Despite needing a win to boost their chances of reaching the knockout stage, Kazma struggled to make the most of the added man.

Al Ajmi nearly restored their lead in the 79th minute when his shot from just outside the box came back off the left upright.

But the Kuwaiti side would secure a dramatic victory in stoppage time when Al Azmi’s fired a long-range effort past Gupreet Singh into the top left corner of the East Bengal net.

KINGFISHER EAST BENGAL:  Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Saikat Saha Roy, Raju Gaikwad, Gurwinder Singh, Robert Lalthlamuana, Nirmal Chettri, Sanju Pradhan, Khan Thang Paite, Baljit Singh Sahni (Mehtab Hossain), Seminlen Doungel (Tolgay Ozbey), Edmilson Marques (Robin Singh)