Tachikawa curler seals Jamshedpur's 2-1 comeback win against East Bengal

Kolkata, Feb 27 (PTI) A late strike from substitute Rei Tachikawa completed a dramatic turnaround as Jamshedpur FC defeated East Bengal 2-1 in an Indian Super League match at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Friday.

The visitors registered their third consecutive victory to move provisionally to the top of the table with nine points from three matches, while East Bengal remained on six points following their first defeat of the campaign.

East Bengal head coach Óscar Bruzón made one change to his starting line-up, bringing in Anton Søjberg in place of Nandha Kumar. Jamshedpur FC head coach Owen Coyle also made a solitary change, handing Vincy Barretto a start ahead of Ritwik Kumar Das.

The contest began at a high tempo with both sides looking to assert early control.

East Bengal left-back Jay Gupta came close in the third minute, heading over from a Miguel Figueira delivery following a set-piece.

Jamshedpur responded immediately, with Raphael Bouli finding the net from a cross by Mohammed Sanan, but the effort was ruled out for offside. Bouli was caught offside again twice in the opening exchanges as East Bengal maintained a disciplined defensive line.

Vincy Barretto remained a threat down the right and forced a save from East Bengal’s keeper Prabhsukhan Gill, while Jamshedpur FC’s Madih Talal’s long-range effort was blocked by defender Anwar Ali. East Bengal, too, looked dangerous from set-pieces, with Anwar and Søjberg both going close from headers.

Despite Jamshedpur asking more questions of the home side defence before the water break, East Bengal broke the deadlock in the 40th minute.

A throw-in from the left led to Bipin Singh delivering a cross into the box, where Edmund Lalrindika showed composure to beat his marker and guide a right-footed finish into the bottom-left corner past Albino Gomes.

Miguel Figueira nearly doubled the advantage before half-time, while Youssef Ezzejjari headed narrowly over from a corner as the hosts carried a slender 1-0 lead into the interval.

Jamshedpur began the second half with renewed attacking intent. Bouli’s header in the 55th minute was acrobatically saved by Gill, and moments later, Talal’s free-kick tested the East Bengal goalkeeper again.

Jamshedpur scored in the 61st minute when Stephen Eze rose highest to meet Nikola Stojanović’s corner and powered a header into the top right corner to level the scores.

The match opened up thereafter, with both sides searching for a decisive goal. Bipin Singh and Jay tested Gomes, while Bruzón introduced fresh legs in the 69th minute to inject energy into his attack. However, Jamshedpur’s defensive unit held firm.

Coyle's change in the 84th minute proved pivotal as Rei Tachikawa made an immediate impact.

In the 87th minute, Tachikawa initiated the move, combining with Mohammed Sanan before playing a clever one-two with Madih Talal. The Japanese midfielder then curled a sublime right-footed effort from the left side of the box into the top right corner, handing Jamshedpur a 2-1 lead.

East Bengal pushed forward in stoppage time in search of an equaliser. Anwar Ali's header was saved by Gomes, and Vishnu Puthiya fired wide with the goalkeeper off his line, but the visitors managed the closing minutes effectively to secure three points. PTI PDS PDS AH AH