But Jay Gupta’s 90th-minute equaliser changed the game before East Bengal, who are playing with an all-Indian defence in the absence of Spanish centre back Nacho Monsalve, took complete control in extra time against the Kuwait Premier League runners-up. East Bengal produced a stunning late comeback to beat Kuwait’s Al Arabi SC 4-1 in extra time and qualify for the group stage of the AFC Champions League Two at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday. The new-look home side under Antonio Lopez Habas looked set for a disappointing exit after trailing 0-1 with just 14 minutes of regulation time remaining following Anayo Iwuala’s 76th minute strike from a penalty.
East Bengal produced a stunning late comeback to beat Kuwait’s Al Arabi SC 4-1 in extra time and qualify for the group stage of the AFC Champions League Two
Captain Mohammed Rashid put the hosts ahead in the 108th minute before substitute David Lalhlansanga added a third in the 117th. Rohit Danu completed the turnaround in the first minute of stoppage time in extra time. The first half was played at a frantic tempo with both teams not planning on sitting back, Al Arabi sounded the opening warning with Zeid Qunbar dragging a shot wide from outside the box in the fifth minute. Al Arabi were left wondering how they did not go ahead in the 23rd minute when Kenean Maleko burst into the box and his shot from an acute angle appeared to squirm past Prabhsukhan Gill , only for the East Bengal goalkeeper to recover in time to claw the ball away from the goal line. East Bengal came close soon after the restart when Bipin Singh missed a golden opportunity in the 50th minute. Jesin raced forward on the counter and played the ball across to Bipin, who had a clear sight of goal. But after taking a touch, he fired his effort wide. With the clock ticking down, East Bengal pushed everything forward and were rewarded with the equaliser when Gupta thumped a header past Abdulghafoor from Rashid’s free-kick delivery to force extra time.
Al Arabi made East Bengal pay for the miss in the 76th minute with Iwuala slotting home from 12 yards after Sandip Mandi had hauled Maleko down in the box.
