East Bengal 0-2 Al-Seeb

East Bengal conceded two late goals to suffer a 0-2 defeat against Al Seeb Club of Oman in their fourth AFC Champions League 2 group match at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Tuesday.

Axel Meye broke the deadlock in stunning fashion in the 85th minute before Zahir Al Aghbari sealed the victory for the Oman club in the first minute of stoppage time.

The result left East Bengal at the bottom of Group D with two points from four games, while Al Seeb moved into third place with four points.

East Bengal Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of the Indian football league system.

East Bengal is one of the most successful clubs in India, having won four National League titles, in addition to a record forty-one state league titles.

The club has also won Federation Cup and Super Cup trophies, making it one of the most decorated football clubs in India.

The 2026–27 AFC Champions League Two is the 23rd edition of Asia’s second-tier club football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation, and the third under the AFC Champions League Two title.

After a tepid opening half, East Bengal dominated the opening proceedings. Bipin Singh Thounaojam fired wide from the edge of the box in the fourth minute before Dani Ramírez sent a low effort just wide after a neat passing move from captain Mohammed Rashid.

Despite seeing defender Anwar Ali forced off by injury in the 17th minute, the Indian Super League champions continued to press with Edmund Lalrindika threatening, while Ramírez headed Bipin’s cross narrowly wide.

Al Seeb finally got their act together just after the half-hour mark when Abdul Aziz Al Maqbali’s through ball released Meye into the box, but the Gabonese’s low drive was comfortably saved by East Bengal goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa. Ramírez then missed another opportunity in the 39th minute, controlling Lalrindika’s cross before dragging his effort wide of the far post as the score remained goalless going into the break.

Al Seeb came back rejuvenated in the second half, with Meye wasting another effort in the 49th minute, sending his header just over the bar following Mohammed Al Musalami’s layoff from a corner. East Bengal responded in the 55th minute through Lalrindika, whose header from Sandip Mandi’s cross narrowly missed the target, while Augustine Oladapo could not find the target from distance.

The Omani side looked more likely to score with Omer Al Malki forcing Lachenpa into a reflex save from inside the six-yard box in the 76th minute, before sending his follow-up effort just wide of the left post.

Al Seeb’s persistence finally came to fruition in the 85th minute after Hassan Al Ajmi recycled the ball back to Meye, who turned past his marker before unleashing a powerful drive past a rooted Lachenpa.

Al Aghbari closed Al Seeb’s account in first minute of stoppage time after collecting Meye’s long cross from the left, completing the counter-attack with a fine finish into the bottom right corner.

East Bengal will next face Al Hussein SC on November 24 in Kolkata before finishing the group stage in Iraq against Al Shorta on December 8.

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Sources

• Khel Now

• Hindustan Times

• Photo: Billjones94, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)