Kolkata, February 16 A double strike within six minutes in the second half by Youssef Ezzejari and a late goal by Miguel Ferreira guided East Bengal FC to a 3-0 victory against NorthEast United FC in the Indian Super League here on Monday.
Óscar Bruzón started Jeakson Singh alongside Anwar Ali in the centre of defence, with Lalchungnunga shifted to the right-back position and Jay Gupta starting on the left flank.
Juan Pedro Benali gave a start to Parthib Gogoi to lead the attack for NorthEast United, with Jithin MS and Jairo Samperio supporting the youngster.
East Bengal started strongly and put early pressure on the NorthEast defence, pressing them high up the pitch, which led to some misplaced passes in midfield.
The wingbacks of East Bengal pushed up high to provide support for Bipin Singh and Nandha Kumar on either wing. Despite having most of the possession and energy, the hosts could not create any genuine scoring chances to trouble Gurmeet in goal.
On the other end, the Highlanders were trying to use the pace of Jithin and Parthib to break the hosts' high defence, but they lacked the perfect pass from midfield.
After the water break, Miguel Zabaco almost scored an own goal while trying to intercept Bipin Singh's low cross. The resulting corner was half-cleared, and Mohamad Rashid took a first-time shot from the edge of the box, which rattled the crossbar, and Miguel Ferreira's rebound attempt was saved by the goalkeeper.
The Red & Gold Brigade had a good spell of play towards the end of the first half, attacking with purpose, but the NorthEast defence contained them as the first half ended goalless.
NorthEast had the better start to the second half, with Jithin once again using his raw pace to make runs behind the East Bengal defence, but with very little output.
On the other end, Miguel Ferreira forced a save from Gurmeet after Bipin Singh rolled in a well-timed cross into the path of the Brazilian.
The Red and Gold Brigade finally broke the Highlanders' defence in the 65th minute. Jeakson found Bipin after a forward run, and the winger kept his calm to swing in a cross inside the box. Ezzejjari lost his marker to get to the end of the cross and headed the ball into the goal for his first goal in the league.
The Spaniard made his debut memorable, scoring his second within five minutes to take the game away from NorthEast United.
Substitute Edmund Lalrindika controlled the ball well under pressure after receiving it from Anwar Ali. With options in the middle of the box, his lobbed pass deflected off Miguel Zabaco and fell kindly to Ezzejjari, who finished past the goalkeeper with ease.
Meanwhile, NorthEast, who had their first shot on target between the two East Bengal goals, were put under more pressure by the fresh legs of PV Vishnu, who was a constant threat down the left wing.
The Highlanders could have had their moment in the 84th minute as Thoi Singh's cross from the right wing rattled the crossbar after East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill mistimed his jump while coming to collect the ball.
East Bengal scored their third goal in injury time through Miguel Ferreira. Jay Gupta found Miguel with an excellent through ball as the latter made his way inside the box. The attacker beat the goalkeeper with a perfect left-footed shot, which found the bottom corner to cap off a perfect start for the home side.
Youssef Ezzejari was adjudged as the player of the match.
