East Bengal’s title bid takes a hit with goalless draw against PFC

Kolkata: The title race in this season's abridged ISL is set for another shift in momentum in the business end of the tournament.After back-to-back wins on the road, East Bengal FC's title charge hit a snag when they were held goalless by Punjab FC at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday. The result may have kept Oscar Bruzon's side on top of the standings with 22 points from 11 matches, but Mohun Bagan SG, lying a point behind and having a game in hand, can retake the reins of the championship ahead of the derby if they host Inter Kashi here on Tuesday. Punjab FC, on the other hand, climbed to sixth with 19 points with the knowledge that their own title ambitions are not in their hands. With the head-to-head rule determining the topper if two teams finish with same points, this Sunday's derby between the city's two big teams is likely to be the title decider. Ahead of the game, Bruzon stirred up a hornet's nest by accusing three former East Bengal players of being "brokers" and "harmful" for the club. However, in absence of an injured Saul Crespo, Miguel Ferreira and Co. looked to be in a hurrah's nest in early exchanges, failing to break through Punjab's well-planned defensive set-up. The fury with which an already-booked Souvik Chakrabarti, who was handed the captain's armband, reacted to Bruzon's decision to have him substituted by Jeakson Singh after 21 minutes, was nowhere to be seen in the team's play. They were quieter as Punjab FC looked threatening on the counter on one occasion too many. In fact, it was Punjab who could have gone ahead after the break but goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill produced two stupendous saves to deny Singamayum Shami and Samir Zeljkovic. East Bengal came alive in the final quarter of the contest, with Miguel's snap shot hitting the horizontal and Mohammad Rashid's brilliant chip from near the centre circle crashing onto the crosspiece. East Bengal came calling again at the death, but Miguel failed to turn Nandhakumar Sekar's attempt into a goal. "If we win the last two games of the season, we will complete our dream. So, today's point is an important one," Bruzon said after the match.