Kayne Vincent struck injury time goal to help Prayag United beat Kingfisher East Bengal FC 1-0 at the Yuba Bharati Krinangan today. Kingfisher East Bengal FC started with lone striker Tolgay Ozbey upfront, while Prayag had Kayne Vincent playing just behind their Brasilian centre forward Joshimar. The match did not have many open chances as Kingfisher East Bengal FC had only four shots on target in the entire match while Prayag United managed just five. In the first half the best chance fell to East Bengal when Tolgay tried to find the back of the net on a header, but his header was brilliantly saved by Abhijjeet Mondal the Prayag?s goalkeeper. In the second half a long ranger from James Singh of Prayag United in the 62nd minute was well saved by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who had to dive to his right to save the shot. Edmilson Marques the new centre forward who replaced Alan Gow in the East Bengal team came in for Penn Orji in the 72nd minute but did not have any clear chances to score. In a disastrous move in the injury time, Kingfisher East Bengal FC was awarded a corner. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu went up to the Prayag?s box to help in, what could have been the last chance of the match. However, the corner was cleared and ball fell to Kayne Vincent who picked it up. He ran towards an empty Kingfisher East Bengal FC half and then tapped in the ball past Saumik Dey, who tried to keep the ball out with his hands. The loss has now put a dent on Kingfisher East Bengal FC?s title credentials while Prayag United are now back in fray to contest for top slot. Kayne Vincent of Prayag was adjudged Man of the Match. Kingfisher East Bengal FC are now on 34 points from the 18 outings. Kingfisher East Bengal FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Gurwinder Singh, Uga Okpara, Saumik Dey, Reisangmei Vashum (Robin Singh), Mehtab Hossain, Sanju Pradhan, Khan Thang Paite, Penn Orji (Edmilson Marques), Tolgay Ozbey.

Kingfisher East Bengal FC overcame a spirited challenge from HAL Bangalore to defeat them 2-0 in the 16th Round I-League encounter, played at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata today. Both the teams started on an aggressive note. But the host found it increasingly difficult to get past the visitors defense in the first half. It was HAL who stole the show in the first half and came very close to an early lead in 20th minute when RC Prakash brilliantly took a volley but Kingfisher East Bengal FC goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh punched the ball away to safety. Though both the teams continued with their attempts of scoring; much to the disappointment of the crowd the first half, however, remained goalless. Changing over, Kingfisher East Bengal FC seemed to have come out with some resolution. Their persistent effort finally gave them lead, when on a perfect cross from Sanju Pradhan, Saumik Dey scored the first goal in 65th minute for Red and Gold brigade. Spurred by the first goal, the Red & Gold Brigade became all the more dangerous, and it paid off in the 89th minute when Penn Orji found the back of the net to score the second goal on an unselfish pass from Brazilian, Edmilson Marques(who had earlier replaced Tolgay Ozbey upfront in 76th minute). The scoreline remained unchanged till the end to hand HAL Bangalore their 13th defeat of the League. With this win, Kingfisher East Bengal FC now has 33 points from 16 outings. Sanju Pradhan was adjudged Man of the Match. EAST BENGAL: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Sunil Kumar Thakur, Uga Okpara, Saumik Dey, Reisangmei Vashum, Mehtab Hossain, Sanju Pradhan, Khan Thang Paite (Sushanth Mathew), Penn Orji, Tolgay Ozbey (Edmilson Marques)

Pailan Arrows proved out to be no match for the resurgent Kingfisher East Bengal FC, as the hosts defeated Arrows by 4-1 in the 15th round I-League clash, played today at the Salt Lake Stadium,Kolkata. After Penn Orji had opened the scoring for East Bengal in the 27th minute, Tolgay Ozbey scored a brace in 30th & 76th minute, respectively. Robert Lalthlamuana scored Kingfisher East Bengal FC?s fourth goal in the 57th minute. The consolation goal for Pailan was scored by stopper-back Prathamesh Maulingkar in 60th minute. Australian Tolgay turned out to be the difference between the two teams, as he remained a constant threat upfront along with Penn Orji. Kingfisher East Bengal FC, who began on an aggressive note put constant pressure on the Pailan defense. And it yielded results soon. Pailan conceded the first goal in 27th minute, when Orji headed in a rebound after rival goalkeeper Naveen Kumar had denied Sanju Pradhan from close. Three minutes later, Penn passed the ball to Tolgay, who blasted in as powerful left- footer to double the score. The scoreline stayed two-nil in favour of the Red & Gold Brigade at the interval. Changing over, Kingfisher East Bengal FC kept up the pressure. The strategy proved successful again in the 57th minute when Penn cleverly passed the ball to Robert Lalthlamuana, who came in out of nowhere to score the third goal. Tolgay again found the back of the Pailan?s empty net to score a brace in 76th minute. Pailan did pull one back in the 60th minute when Prathamesh Maulingkar headed in a Prabir Das corner. The 10th round encounter between the two teams had ended in a goalless draw. With this win Kingfisher East Bengal FC moved to 30 points from 15 matches. Tolgay Ozbey was adjudged the Man of the Match. Kingfisher East Bengal FC: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Gurwinder Singh, Uga Okpara, Robert Lalthlamuana, Reisangmei Vashum (Sushath Mathew), Mehtab Hossain (Subodh Kumar), Sanju Pradhan, Khan Thang Paite, Penn Orji, Tolgay Ozbey (Edmilson Marques)

Kingfisher East Bengal FC is the only team from Kolkata to be in the top-four at the moment (as on January 25, 2012). With three points separating the Red & Gold Brigade from current League-leaders Dempo SC, www.the-aiff.com caught up with East Bengal Coach Trevor Morgan on the challenge ahead. EXCERPTS: Despite East Bengal being placed second at the moment, they haven?t been consistent. How do you describe that? Yes, our performance has been inconsistent. We lost some of the matches which we should have won. But having said that, I think we are in a good position. Ideally, we would have loved to be at the top of the table by now. We need to stay focused. You play Churchill Brothers in a crucial next round encounter. How do you look forward to the contest? Churchill Brothers are a very capable side and are very tough to beat at home. They stay at the third place at the moment as four points separate us. But you need to remember, they have played a match less. It?s understandable they will come all guns blazing at us. We need to be cautious but we will play to win. The combination of Tolgay Ozbey and Penn Orji has worked wonders for East Bengal. What keeps them going? Both Tolgay and Penn are quality players with lots of potential. Their combination has always helped us. Both complement each other on the field and the team is reaping the benefits in return. I?ve no complaints. Sanju Pradhan has been outstanding in this edition. What?s your take on him? Sanju is an exceptional talent who is a match-winner. He has matured a lot and understands his responsibilities and executes them on the field. That defines him. He will go a long way. I rate him very highly. In fact, this team boasts of many match-winners. Which are the areas that you feel your team needs to improve? Defensive organization is an aspect we need to improve upon. When we lost to Salgaocar in Goa, our defense wasn?t up to the mark. Hopefully, Nirmal Chhetri would be back with the team and we will have to reorganize our defense against Churchill who have some very good forwards. Where do you see East Bengal at the end of the season? The League has reached a stage where a win or a loss can have a huge impact on any team. And mind you, the top 4-5 teams don?t stay far way from each other. We need to stick to the basics. Predicting anything at the moment won?t be right.

Kingfisher East Bengal FC played a 1-1 draw with Churchill Brothers in the I-League match played today afternoon at PJN Stadium, Goa. Gabonese striker Henri Antchouet gave Churchill the lead in 7th minute but the Red & Gold Brigade bounced back in the second half and restored parity through Tolgay Ozbey in the 53rd minute. Churchill coach Manuel Gomes opted to start with three strikers, including one on the right of midfield, giving Churchill a lot of attacking intent. It surely took Kingfisher East Bengal FC by surprise; as the visitors were still coming to grips with the torrent of attacks early in the game. One such move, led to a corner in the seventh minute which Steven Dias took beautifully and Henri finished with a smart header at the first post. Soon after, Churchill created another fine chance; but this time, Lenny Rodrigues? booming long-ranger rattled the upright and rebounded back into play. For the remainder of the first half, the ball was mostly confined to the midfield as Kingfisher East Bengal FC seemed out of sorts and Churchill seemed content in the solitary goal lead. In the second session, Kingfisher East Bengal FC pulled up their socks, and within eight minutes found themselves clawing their way back into the game. Incidentally, it was their first attempt on goal as Tolgay headed Harmanjot Khabra?s flick from close range. The goal did not upset Churchill as they continued to dominate but a goal remained elusive despite several chances. The best chances fell at the feet of Henri but the Gabonese striker twice failed to score with only the goalkeeper to beat. Mohammad Rafi also had a good chance but his shot from handshaking distance sailed too wide of the target. Kingfisher East Bengal FC almost took everyone by surprise but Tolgay's left-footer struck the side post. Henri Antchouet was declared the Man of the Match. Kingfisher East Bengal FC now has 34 points from seventeen outings. EAST BENGAL: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Gurwinder Singh, Uga Okpara, Soumik Dey, Reisangmei Vashum (Khan Thang Paite), Mehtab Hossain, Sanju Pradhan, Sushanth Mathew, Penn Ikechukwu Orji, Tolgay Ozbey