ISL 2020-21 LIVE, SCEB 2 - 0 OFC: Pilkington, Maghoma give East Bengal lead against Odisha

This is Sportstar's live coverage of the ISL 2020-21 encounter between SC East Bengal and Odisha FC on Sunday.

LIVE UPDATES:

AND IT'S HALF-TIME!!!

45' Two minutes of stoppage time to be added on at the end of the first half. THROW-IN FOR OFC! Gaurav Bora goes for a long throw but SCEB regains possession.

42' FREE-KICK FOR SCEB! OFC midfielder Cole Alexander completes a dangerous high boot to concede a foul. But East Bengal is unable to capitalise on the set-piece.

39' WHAT A GOAL!!!!!!!!!!! JACQUES MAGHOMA SCORES!!!! EAST BENGAL 2 - 0 ODISHA FC!!!!!! Maghoma received the ball on the left flank from Matti Steinmann and sprinted into space. He evaded several opposition players, entered the box and fired a shot on target from a narrow angle. The ball hit the near post and beat OFC keeper Arshdeep Singh to double SCEB's lead.

37' COUNTER-ATTACK! Odisha FC loses the ball in midfield and Haobam Singh tries to find one of his SC East Bengal teammates in the final third with a long ball but he puts too much power on it.

34' CORNER FOR ODISHA! Jerry Mawihmingthanga will take it. He sends the ball into the box. Vinit Rai gets the first header. The ball drops for Jacob Tratt. He takes a touch and releases a shot. However, the East Bengal players avert the danger with a timely clearance.

31' And it's time for the cooling break now!

28' BIG CHANCE! Jacques Maghoma wins the ball in midfield and rushes forward. He finds his SCEB teammate Anthony Pilkington on his left. Pilkington then dribbles past a player, gets inside the box and curls the ball towards the far post. After a deflection, the ball hits the crossbar.

25' Odisha has dominated the passing and attacking stats in this match so far. But it has no goal to show. It conceded one due to lack of concentration for a few seconds. East Bengal defence looks calm.

22' CLOSE! Shubham Sarangi takes the ball forward on the right flank for Odisha. He attempts to cross the ball into the middle. But Debjit comes off his line to collect the ball.

19' BACK-TO-BACK CORNERS FOR OFC! Vinit Rai took the first one. Diego Mauricio jumped the highest in the box and directed the ball towards goal. ANOTHER SAVE! Debjit completes an even better save with a fantastic dive to his left. The following set-piece was cleared away easily by the SCEB defence.

17' SAVE! SCEB keeper Debjit Majumder, who made a mess of an easy clearance a while ago, pulls off a good save to deny OFC forward Manuel Onwu, whose header from close range was on target.

14' CROSS! Hendry Antonay with a brilliant move forward for Odisha on the left wing. But his cross into the box is a long one as the referee awards East Bengal a goal-kick.

12' GOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! ANTHONY PILKINGTON SCORES!!! EAST BENGAL 1 - 0 ODISHA! Brainfade for the OFC players. This was long throw-in from the right flank by Raju Gaikwad and no one could intercept the ball. Pilkington, who was at the far post, jumped over his marker and headed the ball past keeper Arshdeep Singh.

9' CHANCE! Manuel Onwu and Diego Mauricio execute a good one-two pass and move forward with pace. However, Onwu's final shot on target is straight at SCEB custodian Debjit Majumder.

6' SCEB is on the backfoot straightaway. The Odisha FC forwardline looks composed. The East Bengal defence is already having a tough time.

3' YELLOW CARD! Another game, another early booking for a SC East Bengal player. Milan Singh goes into the referee's book for a silly tackle on OFC's Gaurav Bora. This is East Bengal's 22nd yellow card of the season, which is the most received by any team.

AND THE MATCH BEGINS!

4:55 PM: Here are all the important stats, head-to-head record and players to watch out for from the first clash of a double-header Super Sunday.

4:45 PM: This is definitely not the stat the two teams playing in match 45 of the 2020-21 ISL would like to take a look at!

4:30 PM: Odisha FC is desperate for a turnaround, but does it have the firepower to overcome SCEB?

For the match against SC East Bengal, after a long 12-day break, Odisha FC head coach Stuart Baxter has decided to go for an unchanged playing XI from the 2-2 draw against NorthEast United FC.   -  ISL/SPORTZPICS

4:15 PM: Can East Bengal bag its first win of the season today?

SC East Bengal manager Robbie Fowler has brought in new signing Raju Gaikwad and Milan Singh in place of Surchandra Singh and Sehnaj Singh, respectively, for the game against fellow strugglers Odisha FC.   -  ISL/SPORTZPICS

4 PM: The team lineups are out!

SCEB XI - Debjit Majumder (GK), Scott Neville, Daniel Fox, Raju Gaikwad, Matti Steinmann, Mohammed Rafique, Jacques Maghoma, Anthony Pilkington, Bikash Jairu, Milan Singh, Haobam Singh.

COACH: Robbie Fowler.

OFC XI - Arshdeep Singh (GK), Hendry Antonay, Gaurav Bora, Steven Taylor, Shubham Sarangi, Jacob Tratt, Cole Alexander, Vinit Rai, Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Manuel Onwu, Diego Mauricio.

COACH: Stuart Baxter.

3:40 PM: Adios 2020, hello 2021!

2020 saw loss, defeat, death and suffering. But it also gave us a few moments to hold on to. We cherish these little mercies as we step into a brand New Year. Here's wishing all our readers and subscribers a very Happy New Year.

Follow Sportstar's full coverage (Latest news, Interviews, Features, Points table, Quiz, Videos) of ISL 2020-21 here. Click here

The Indian Super League (ISL 2020-21) marks the return of major league competition in India after the nationwide lockdown to prevent the COVID-19 outbreak was first imposed in March.

The seventh edition of the ISL got underway inside a bio-bubble in Goa on November 20.

ISL 2020-21 points table

The tournament, spanning over four months, will see 11 teams play each other in a league and playoff format across three venues. Following the inclusion of SC East Bengal, this season will feature 115 games, up from 95 last season.

MATCH PREVIEW:

Robbie Fowler and Stuart Baxter, the coaches of SC East Bengal and Odisha FC, find themselves chasing a similar target. It is about finding the first win for their teams in the Indian Super League, which is on the verge of reaching the halfway stage.

East Bengal and Odisha FC are the only two winless sides in the tournament and currently occupy the bottom two places in the current league standings. When the two meet on Sunday at the Tilak Maidan Stadium, Vasco, there will be a compelling desire in both the camps of ending a long stretch of disappointment.

The two teams have put up almost similar struggles but East Bengal under Fowler has shown some hope managing a couple of draws in the previous two outings against established teams like Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC. Odisha FC also drew its previous match against North East United, which helped it end a series of four consecutive losses.

READ | ISL 2020-21 preview: ATK Mohun Bagan eyes top spot against shaky NorthEast United

In their struggle for consistency since the start, both East Bengal and Odisha have scored just 5 goals, which remains this season’s lowest so far. Their defending also has been quite vulnerable conceding 13 and 11 goals respectively.

“The boys have done really well in the past couple of weeks and there are lots of positives. Yes, we haven't won a game yet but we've lost only one of our last four games. We are taking the right steps for the benefit of the club,” Fowler said ahead of the match.

The Liverpool FC legend is particularly worried about the team’s attack and was happy that East Bengal has managed to sign its seventh foreigner in the 22-year-old Nigerian forward Bright Enobakhare. “As a manager, you want to make every area in your team better. If the players are available and can come in, it's great. But we will have to work with what we have got at present. The players are getting better every single day,” he said.

ALSO READ | Raju Gaikwad, Ankit Mukherjee sign for SC East Bengal

“We had been looking for our seventh foreigner for a long time. He is a very clever player. I wouldn't say he is an archetypal No. 9 who would grab a lot of goals from that position, but he is someone who can open up defenses. He has got quick feet and is very skilful. We are sure that he will strengthen the squad and we are delighted to have him,” Fowler said about the former Wolves player Enobakhare. East Bengal also announced the signing of two Indian defenders in the young Ankit Mukherjee and the vastly experienced former India campaigner Raju Gaikwad.

Odisha FC head coach Stuart Baxter hoped his team will soon be able to turn a new page. “We have got new foreigners who are settling into Indian football and we have got young players who are helping the younger players. I have been very pleased with the fact that they approach every football game with a belief of getting the result. I think if we can continue to do that then we can expect a better result in the future.” Baxter said.