SC East Bengal picked up their third win in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2020-21 after beating Jamshedpur FC 2-1 at the Fatorda Stadium on Sunday. Matti Steinmann scored early in the first half to give SC East Bengal the lead and Anthony Pilkington netted for them in the second, while Peter Hartley scored Jamshedpur’s goal to set up an exciting finish.

  • A Matti Steinmann header from a corner gave SC East Bengal the lead at halftime.
  • Anthony Pilkington doubled the Kolkata club’s lead in the second half and Peter Hartley scored a consolation goal for Jamshedpur.

After Jamshedpur had gone close to breaking the deadlock in the 3rd minute following a Nerijus Valskis freekick that was inches wide of the target, SC East Bengal took the lead in the 6th minute through Steinmann. The German midfielder rose highest for the Kolkata club at the near post to get a glancing header on a Narayan Das corner to guide it into the back of the net.

Jamshedpur tried to claw their way back into the contest, but SC East Bengal demonstrated great defensive organization to keep Owen Coyle’s men at bay in the first half. Alexandre Lima tried his luck from range in the 20th minute only to see his effort go wide of the target.

The Kolkata club also shot from distance in the 31st minute after Pilkington looked to beat the goalkeeper from a freekick. The Irishman’s shot though failed to test the goalkeeper just like a Steinmann header from a long throw-in just before halftime as SC East Bengal went into the break with a 1-0 lead.

The first two big chances of the second period went SC East Bengal’s way. After Steinmann failed to get his head on a dangerous freekick into the box from Narayan, the SC East Bengal fullback had a chance of his own in the 58th minute when a Bright Enobakhare pass released him on the left. Narayan galloped forward with the ball and ran into the box before getting his shot away, which was saved by TP Rehenesh.

Jamshedpur came agonizingly close to equalising in the 63rd minute after a Farukh Choudhary cross from the left was smashed onto the post by Valskis. However, that Valskis miss proved to be costly as Pilkington doubled SC East Bengal’s lead in the 68th minute after a Steinmann pass set up the Irishman for a thumping finish that Rehenesh couldn’t get his hands up in time to save.

Pilkington could have scored his second goal of the night in the 79th minute after a Bright pass set up the Irishman for a shot from a similar position as his first goal. However, his shot on this occasion ended up hitting the post before going into Rehenesh’s hands.

Jamshedpur did pull one back in the 83rd minute to set up a grandstand finish. After SC East Bengal defended a corner, Coyle’s men recycled the ball and got an Isaac Vanmalsawma cross in from the left for Hartley to head home and halve the deficit.

They had a big opportunity to equalise in the third minute of stoppage time after another cross from the left following a corner. This time it was Valskis that headed the ball on target but Subrata Paul got his hand to the ball to make the save as SC East Bengal held on for a win.

Hero of the Match – Matti Steinmann

Matti Steinmann became SC East Bengal’s outright leading goal-scorer with his fourth strike of the season which gave his side an early lead. He also assisted Pilkington for his side’s second goal of the night and could have easily scored more on another day.

Other Match Awards:

Club Award – SC East Bengal

DHL Winning Pass of the Match – Narayan Das (SC East Bengal)

Watch the Match Highlights here: