Nedo Turkovic struck a late equaliser as Neroca FC held formidable East Bengal to a 1-1 draw in a hard fought I-League clash at the Khuman Lampak Stadium here on Saturday.
Turkovic scored in the 89th minute to rescue a point for the hosts after Yusa Katsumi (12th) had given East Bengal an early lead.
East Bengal are now at the top of the I-League table with 14 points from seven matches, one point ahead of second placed Minerva Punjab FC.
Neroca took the third position with 11 points from six matches, pushing Mohun Bagan and Shillong Lajong FC -- who have 10 points each -- to joint fourth.
Both teams started on a cautious note and put in more effort to hold their own half.
The moment of rejoicing came in the 12th minute for the visitors when Trinidad and Tobago-born striker Willis Deon Plaza went through the right side of the box and unleashed a defence-scathing pass to the Japanese midfielder Katsumi who did no mistake to volley it home to silence the 28,000 strong home crowd here.
The first half belonged to East Bengal, who outplayed the hosts by adopting an aggressive approach. Though Neroca FC had a few good chances, they lacked the finesse inside the box.
In the 28th minute, East Bengal coach Khalid Jamil introduced Mohammed Rafique -- who had netted a magical goal in his last outing -- in place of Prakash Sarkar.
Neroca FC, on the other hand, brought in Nedo Turkovic at the expense of Israilov Akhlidin in the first half to instill more vigour in the attacking third.
After half-time, Neroca FC were looking more hungry for the equaliser and kept the East Bengal defenders on their toes throughout.
Their best chance came in the 60th minute when a corner kick from Saran Singh was well-timed by Fabien Vorbe at the goal-mouth but eventually, he failed to convert it into a goal.
Finally, the moment of madness came for the hosts when Turkovic found a pass near left side of the 18-yard box and volleyed it past East Bengal goalkeeper Luis Barreto to send the crowd into delirium.
East Bengal will now fly to New Delhi to face Indian Arrows on the second day of 2018 and Neroca FC will host the youngsters three days later.
--IANS
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