Diego Mauricio continued his fine form in the Indian Super League (ISL) Football Tournament, bagging his second brace for Odisha FC in as many games as they put an end to their four-game winless streak, beating East Bengal FC 3-1 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar today.

This was the seventh win in 13 matches for Odisha FC and helped them move up to fifth place on the ISL table with 22 points. Odisha FC fell behind early in the first half, but gave their home support much to cheer about as they outscored East Bengal FC for the remainder of the game.

Cleiton Silva, who is now the leading goalscorer of the season, put East Bengal FC in front in the 10th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Odisha FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh. Alex Lima played a lofted pass over the defence on the right side, and Amrinder rushed out indecisively to find himself stranded. Silva showed no hesitation in chipping the ball from a tight angle and put the visitors in front.

Odisha FC nearly levelled the score minutes later, when Thoiba Singh picked up the ball from Mauricio as he drove into the box, and found Jerry Mawihmingthanga unmarked at the far post. The forward could not keep his balance as he pushed the ball wide of the far post of an open goal.

But the hosts did not have to wait for too long after that, with Raynier Fernandes whipping a cross into the six-yard box from a corner and finding no resistance from the East Bengal FC. He found Mauricio a few yards in front of the goalkeeper, and the striker stuck his right foot out to score.

On either side of the half-time whistle, Odisha FC then found the goals to put the fixture to bed. The first of those was a fortuitous one for Nandhakumar Sekar, who was looking to cross the ball in from the left and ended up slicing it with his left foot. The ball kept going in its original path and eventually cleared East Bengal FC goalkeeper Suvam Sen to land in the back of the net.

Not long after the second half began, Mauricio picked up a second goal. Fernandes was the provider for him once again, pushing forward from the right side of central midfield before slipping it into the channel for Mauricio on the right side of the box. The striker picked up the ball, kept his composure with the lack of a press from the defence, and managed to dink the ball into the near post past the left shoulder of Sen.

Eventually, Odisha FC picked up the three points that put them ahead of FC Goa in the playoffs race. Diego Mauricio bagged the Hero of the Match Award for his brace. Odisha FC will now travel to Bengaluru to meet Bengaluru FC on January 14.
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PHOTO: Odisha FC striker Diego Mauricio celebrates after scoring a goal against East Bengal FC in their ISL match in Bhubaneswar on 7 January 2023.