Kolkata giants East Bengal scored a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Jordan outfir Al Wihdat at the Prince Mohammad International Stadiun at Zerqa City on Wednesday.
The win lifted East Bengal to the top of Group B with six points from three matches, after two wins and a 0-1 loss to Lebanese club Safa SC in their opening match last month.
Subrata Paul was in action as early as the eighth minute when he deflected an Issa Al Sapah's shot for a corner while Rafat Ali shot over the crossbar one minute later.
The home side was denied in the 14th minute again when Mohammad Abdallah's close-range shot was tipped over the bar by Paul while at the other end East Bengal striker Edmilson Marques' shot went wide.
Al Wihdat continued to apply the pressure and they went close to scoring in the 22nd minute when a Mahmoud Shelbaieh pass found Rafat Ali, who, in trying to lob over an onrushing Paul, sent the ball over the crossbar.
The best chance for Al Wihdat came five minutes before the break when Shelbaieh broke into the left side of the box before passing to the unmarked Issa Al Sapah, whose shot was blocked by East Bengal defender Debabrata Roy.
East Bengal got their feet in the second half with Edmilson Marques leading the attack and Wihdat goalkeeper Mahmoud Qandil had to come to his side's rescue to save an Edmilson free kick in the 53rd minute.
However, the home side's goalkeeper turned villain five minutes later when his goal kick fell at the feet of Alvito D'Cunha, who did not waste the chance with a shearing left-footer into the Wihdat goal to stun the home supporters.
Jolted by the reverse, the home side pressed for an equiliser but Subrata Paul was upto the task five minutes later to deny Rafat Ali from a free kick.
As Al Wihdat pushed forward looking to level the score, East Bengal doubled their advantage in the 69th minute when Ibe Ike Gift was given space to work into the rival box before dumping the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
East Bengal play the same opponents at home on April 16 before taking on Safa, also at home, and Ahli Sana'a in Yemen on April 30 and May 14 respectively.
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