Former Real Madrid reserves manager Jose Manuel Diaz's desire of getting his new Indian project off to a winning start remained unfinished as his SC East Bengal settled for a 1-1 draw with Jamshedpur FC on Sunday.
Former Lazio defender Franjo Prce put SC East Bengal ahead in the 17th minute but Jamshedpur FC captain Peter Hartley headed home the equalizer in the first-half injury time at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco as the eighth edition of ISL saw the first draw after back-to-back six-goal fest in the first two games.
The fact that both goals came from defenders was perhaps suggestive enough of the nature of the game where the frontline of two sides sparked occasionally but failed to make any decisive impact.
Both teams have undergone significant changes in their look since the last season but the onus was clearly on East Bengal to make an early statement, given that their next match is against ATK Mohun Bagan, who started their campaign with a 4-2 demolition of Kerala Blasters in the tournament opener.
Starting with Daniel Chima and Antonio Perosevic upfront, Diaz might have tried to look for early ascendancy. But Chima looked a man still in search of his predatory instincts while his Croatian teammate did show glimpses of his potential, providing the assist to their first goal, but not good enough to carry his team over the line.
Owen Coyle's Jamshedpur, on the other hand, stayed to a game plan, probing the rival rear-guard on quick counter-offensives. They may not have been able to notch up the win here, but the way they grew in confidence as the match wore on could be an indicator of their potentiality as one of the top-four contenders this time around.
A major part of Diaz's pre-season concentrated on set-piece variations. No wonder, when East Bengal got the breakthrough, it originated from a set-piece. As Bikash Jairu whipped in the team's second corner, goalkeeper Rehenesh TP was forced to make a clearance in the melee. However, Perosevic followed it up at the far post and quickly sent it back across the face of the goal. Prce met it with an overhead kick which caught the rival backline off guard as neither Rehenesh nor Lalrinliana Hnamte, standing on the line, could prevent it from going in.
So far so good for East Bengal as their all-Indian midfield managed to stand up to the challenge of winning most of the key moments and thereby controlling the flow of the game.
Their dominance at that time almost fetched a second goal from another set-piece situation in the 33rd minute but Tomislav Mrcela's 'goal' was rightly ruled out for offside.
Thus reprieved, Jamshedpur FC sniffed their chances and brought home the equalizer at a time when the East Bengal backline was perhaps thinking about strolling back to the dressing room with a happy mind.
Hartley spoiled that mood planting a free-header header which the red-and-gold defence should have been more alert in dealing with.
JFC looked more proactive in the second half. East Bengal still came calling, second-half Jackichand Singh's ambitious attempt from long range almost caught an out-of-position Rehenesh off guard. But it was just like the tale of their story: Wearing a retro jersey, they came about changing the past, following their miserable start to the last season, but eventually fell short on achieving their target.
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