ISL vs I-League: FC Pune City defeat East Bengal 2-1 in pre-season friendly

The Kolkata giants went down fighting the Orange Army from Maharashtra in a friendly before the Indian domestic club season begins...

(ISL) side beat giants 2-1 in a pre-season friendly match at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune on Monday.

Emiliano Alfaro and Jonatan Lucca scored back to back goals within 20 minutes of the match to put Pune City in front. Syrian midfielder Mahmoud Al Amna scored the consolation goal from the penalty spot in the 71st minute.

East Bengal coach Khalid Jamil fielded all six foreigners in the starting XI today. The team lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Willis Plaza and Charles D'Souza upfront. Katsumi Yusa operated from the wings while Armand Bazzaou and Al Amna played in the central midfield.

Youngsters Salam Ranjan Singh and Mehtab Singh played as the full-backs while Gurwinder Singh partnered Eduardo Ferreira at the heart of the defence. Dibyendu Sarkar started under the post replacing Mirshad K.

The Red and Golds were startled after conceding two early goals in the match but slowly came back to shape as the game progressed. Katsumi's shot had hit the bar around the 50th-minute mark and a goal was also disallowed due to offside.

Khalid Jamil's men played their third friendly match today in the last five days. They drew their first friendly match against at the Kanteerava Stadium and lost their second match 3-1. They now travel to Goa where they take on yet another ISL side on November 3rd.