David Lalhlansanga's Brilliant Brace Proves Insufficient As East Bengal Suffer Heartbreaking Defeat Against Al Shorta

David Lalhlansanga scored twice but East Bengal lost 2-3 to Iraq's Al Shorta in their second AFC Champions League Two group match in Kolkata on Tuesday. The Indian Super League champions led twice before conceding two quick second-half goals at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

Lalhlansanga struck in the eighth and 40th minutes for East Bengal. Al Shorta hit back through Ruben Ramírez in the 14th minute and Hussein Al Saedi in the 51st before Kingsley Kuku scored the winner in the 53rd minute.

The defeat leaves East Bengal winless after two matches. Al Shorta are top of Group D with six points, while East Bengal have one point from their 2-2 draw with Jordan's Al Hussein on September 16.

First-Half Exchanges

East Bengal started slowly.

Even so, they went ahead in the eighth minute when Lalhlansanga collected Hardik Bhatt's pass from the right and fired past Jalal Hassan on the turn. Al Shorta answered six minutes later. Ramírez's looping cut-back from the right corner found Yahya, whose downward header bounced past Prabhsukhan Singh.

The home side pushed again. Hassan made back-to-back saves in the 21st minute, first with a one-handed parry from Lal Chungnunga's 35-yard drive and then from Lalhlansanga's rebound half-volley.

East Bengal restored their lead in the 40th minute. Captain Basim Rashid gathered Hasan's block from a Daniel Ramirez free-kick and back-heeled the ball from the byline to an unmarked Lalhlansanga, who scored from close range into an empty net.

Second-Half Turnaround

Al Shorta turned it fast.

The visitors levelled six minutes into the second half after Yahya did the work on the left and squared for Al Saedi, who tapped in from inside the six-yard box. Two minutes later, Kuku put Al Shorta ahead for the first time with a thumping header from a corner that ricocheted off Prabhsukhan's arm and went in.

East Bengal had chances to recover. Hassan made two point-blank saves from Edmund Lalrindika and Lalhlansanga in the 67th minute as the hosts chased an equaliser.

Al Shorta went down to 10 men in the 76th minute when Abdoul Moumouni received his second yellow card for a tackle on Jay Gupta. East Bengal could not use that edge in the final 15 minutes despite coming close on a number of occasions.

Group Standing Context

The table tightens.

Al Shorta have now won two matches in a row and lead Group D with six points. East Bengal are third with one point.

That lone point came from a 2-2 draw against Al Hussein of Jordan on September 16. Tuesday's loss means the Kolkata side are still looking for their first win in the group.