East Bengal’s dreams of making it to the quarter-finals of the AFC Cup came crashing after losing 0-1 to Ahli Sana’a of Yemen in their final Group B league match in Sana’a on Wednesday.
The Yemeni side scored the all-important goal in the 44th minute and held on to the slender lead till the end at the Al Mohsen Al-Muraisi Stadium.East Bengal, who needed a win today to qualify for the knock-out stage of Asia’s second tier club competition, ended the tournament with seven points from six matches.
The Kolkata side also do not stand a chance to make the grade as one of three best runners-up teams.The home team avenged their 0-1 loss to their Indian opponents on 18th March in Kolkata but the win was inconsequential for them as they were already out of contention.
They ended their campaign with six points in the group.Wednesday’s result means that table toppers Safa FC (nine points) of Lebanon need just a draw against Al Wihdat (six points) of Jordan in their final group match which was postponed due to security situation in Lebanon to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Five group toppers and three best second-placed teams will make it to the quarterfinals.
Courtsey : DD NEWS