Cleiton Silva’s brace powers East Bengal FC to first Hero ISL win in Kolkata

It was a night filled with emotional moments as skipper Cleiton Silva took centre stage at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan against Bengaluru FC. The Brazilian scored a brace which included a special free-kick post the 90th minute. The scoreline at the end of the game read 2-1 as the Red & Gold brigade completed a double over Simon Grayson and Co. in this Hero ISL season.
EBFC broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, courtesy Cleiton Silva’s penalty. The lead came against the run of play as VP Suhair forced Naorem Roshan Singh into a mistimed sliding tackle as the ball rolled onto his arms. Silva went for the penalty and calmly slotted it home.
Even though Bengaluru FC looked threatening from set-pieces and provided stiff competition, they could not find an equaliser as the two teams headed into the half-time break.
In the 55th minute, Bengaluru FC found the equaliser as Roy Krishna and Javier Hernandez combined to get the goal. Krishna passed the ball to Hernandez from the right flank and the Spaniard found the back of the net.
The Red & Golds created some chances in the second half as well. A chance in the 83rd minute went in vain as Silva’s shot went wide off target.
However, the Brazilian forward brimmed with resilience and pounced on a goal-scoring opportunity through a free-kick during the stoppage time. A sensational delivery swirled towards the goal as BFC custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu failed to deny EBFC’s winner.
The crowd attending the game went berserk as Silva dedicated his goal to the late Brazilian legend Pele. Speaking to the media after the game, Silva said, “Pele will always live on. His legacy will always be remembered and he’ll never be forgotten. It was a special goal.”
Constantine told the media, “I thought there were 60,000 people. That’s how loud our fans are. It’s a happy new year for us. Joy East Bengal!”
The Red & Gold brigade will next cross swords with Odisha FC on 7th January 2023.The match will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar..