The match began with promise for the hosts, as Lalhlansanga opened the scoring in the eighth minute. After latching onto a delivery from Hardik Bhatt on the right flank, he turned sharply to fire the ball past goalkeeper Jalal Hassan. However, the lead was short-lived, with Ruben Ramírez equalizing for the visitors just six minutes later by heading home a looping cross.
Missed Opportunities and Second-Half Collapse
The home side regained the advantage shortly before halftime. Following a blocked free-kick from Daniel Ramirez, captain Basim Rashid managed to back-heel the ball from the byline, finding an unmarked Lalhlansanga, who tapped into an empty net to make it 2-1. The momentum, however, shifted dramatically after the interval.
Al-Shorta leveled the proceedings once more in the 51st minute when Hussein Al Saedi tapped in a cross from the left. Only two minutes later, the visitors surged ahead for the first time in the match. A powerful header from Kingsley Kuku struck the arm of goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh before finding the back of the net, establishing what proved to be the final scoreline.
East Bengal attempted to rally, with goalkeeper Jalal Hassan forced into a series of crucial saves to deny Edmund Lalrindika and Lalhlansanga in the 67th minute. The hosts were handed a potential lifeline in the 76th minute when Al-Shorta’s Abdoul Moumouni was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a challenge on Jay Gupta. Despite the numerical advantage for the final quarter of an hour, East Bengal were unable to break down the Iraqi defense to force an equalizer.
The result leaves East Bengal third in Group D with one point from two matches, following their earlier 2-2 draw against Al Hussein of Jordan. Conversely, Al-Shorta have moved to the top of the group standings with six points from two consecutive victories.
