Round 5 of the Hero I-League saw plenty of drama as East Bengal ascended to the summit of the table, level on 13 points with rivals Mohun Bagan but ahead on goal difference. The first match of this past week saw the Mariners go up against DSK Shivajians at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Tuesday. The game ended in a 0-0 stalemate as Mohun Bagan dropped their first points of the season.Meanwhile, reigning champions Bengaluru FC had a week to forget after being rocked by Churchill Brothers at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco da Gama on Friday. The Goan outfit handed the Blues their first loss of the season after securing a 2-1 comeback win in front of their home crowd. India’s all-time top scorer and the first Indian to score a hat-trick in the Hero ISL, Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City FC) gave Bengaluru a 1-0 lead before strikes from Anthony Wolfe and Chesterpoul Lyngdoh handed Churchill all three points.Shillong Lajong, on the other hand, enjoyed a good week after picking up their second win of the season at the expense of Mumbai FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. Asier Dipanda gave the hosts the advantage with a first-half brace before Karan Sawhney pulled one back for Mumbai in the second period. Konsham Singh scored Shillong’s third of the night to help his team to a comfortable 3-1 victory.Chennai City also ended the week on a positive note with their first win in the 2017 Hero I-League coming against Aizawl FC. Marcos Thank and Charles de Souza hit the back of the net in a comfortable 2-0 win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. The last match of the week saw East Bengal dish out a 5-0 hammering to Minerva Punjab at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, Punjab. Wedson Anselme helped himself to a hat-trick, while Willis Plaza and Robin Singh (FC Goa) added one each in a convincing display by the Red and Gold brigade.The massive margin of the victory witnessed East Bengal move past Mohun Bagan in the table on goal differences. They are followed by Aizawl FC and Bengaluru FC, who occupy third and fourth places with 10 and nine points respectively. Minerva Punjab, however, are at the other end of the spectrum, lying in last and 10th position with one point from five games.
