Indian Arrows hold East Bengal 1-1

Gurgaon, Feb 26 (PTI) Indian Arrows maintained theirunbeaten streak at home with an impressive 1-1 draw againstEast Bengal in a Round XVI encounter of the I-League heretoday.

Oinam Milan Singh gave Indian Arrows a surprise lead inthe eighth minute which was nullified by East Bengal through RVashum, who was making a comeback after recovering from aprolonged injury, in the 18th minute at Tau Devi Lal Stadium.

The game started at brisk pace as both the teams took anaggressive approach.

Indian Arrows have proved a hard nut to crack at home andit was no different story as Milan Singh flicked a LalrindikaRalte free-kick into the goal in the eighth minute to put thehome side in front.

Trevor Morgan-coached East Bengal retaliated swiftly andfound the equaliser 10 minutes later.

Soumik Dey made a swift run down the left flank andprovided an inch-perfect cross to R Vashum who gave thefinishing touches to restore parity.

East Bengal did make numerous inroads in the opponents''citadel but had to contain themselves with 1-1 scoreline atthe break.

The Indian Arrows back-four stood firm in the second halfalso, thwarting the attempts of East Bengal strikers.

Raju Gaekwad, who was declared man-of-the-match,marshalled the back-line well while the others put up aspirited performance.

The draw helped the Indian Arrows to garner 16 pointsfrom as many matches, while East Bengal still remain at secondspot with 32 points from 15 matches, two points behind leadersSalgaocar.