A spirited effort by 10-man SC East Bengal led by goalkeeper Debjit Majumder helped the Kolkata side earn a vital point against Chennaiyin FC with a 0-0 draw in Indian Super League (ISL) at the GMC Stadium, Bambolim, on Monday.

The Robbie Fowler’s side were reduced to 10 players just after the half-hour mark after Chhetri was booked for a second yellow.

Chhetri was shown the first yellow in the 22nd minute after bringing down Anirudh Thapa, something he repeated on the same player after nine minutes to be sent off.

But the former champions failed to make any count of the numerical supremacy but Fowler’s side looked much more defensively organised with Majumder putting up the Man-of-the-Match performance.

In the 54th minute, Majumder parried away a shot from Isma with a top-class save and then in the 70th minute he came off his line and kept his cool in a one-on-one situation with the Bissau-Guinean centre forward to clear the ball.

CFC kept making inroads but Majumder remained adamant and was not beaten even once.

In the 84th minute, Chhangte received a pass from Rahim Ali on the left side of the box but Majumder thwarted it comfortably.

SCEB got a few good chances in the second half but Anthony Pilkington was unable to put the ball into the back of the net.

On the other side, Debjit Majumder was playing like a man possessed, denying Chennaiyin from scoring again and again.

Both teams had their fair share of chances to break the deadlock but neither could find the back of the net.