East Bengal kicked off their I-League campaign in disappointing fashion yesterday as they drew 1-1 to a resolute Aizawl FC side at the Barasat stadium. The Bengal giants, who come into this season as one of the favourites to win the title, looked unsettled and disjointed from the start and were overrun in the midfield in the first half.
In the second half, things did not improve and a rather fortuitous own goal from Gurwinder Singh handed the away team a well-deserved lead. Despite going down, the home side looked lethargic and could not fashion proper attacking moves, until Willis Plaza came on.
After that, the Bengal giants looked a bit lively and finally equalised thanks to a brilliant Ivan Bukenya header in the 89th minute. Aizawl coach Khalid Jamil blamed his defence for failing to mark Bukenya while East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan thanked the stars for managing to garner a point somehow.
Here are the 5 things we learnt from the game:
#1 East Bengal need Arnab Mondal back as soon as possible
Thanks to the strains of the ISL and a missing physio, East Bengal missed the services of Arnab Mondal at the back yesterday. Gurwinder Singh was paired with Anwar Ali, and while the latter had a decent game, the former had a stinker.
He was caught out by the Aizawl forwards on numerous occasions, and eventually had to be substituted after he ended up hitting the back of his own net while clearing the ball. It was widely acknowledged that Arnab’s absence would be a problem, but no one had guessed it would be this big a problem.
Morgan will be hoping that his star defender can return to match fitness before the next game week.
#2 Aizawl FC can be the giant killers this season
Aizawl FC were relegated at the end of last season, but they were bought back by the AIFF to field 10 teams in the league this year. Under Khalid Jamil, they look like a completely different side this term, with the likes of Jayesh Rane, Alfred Jaryan and Kamo running riot in the East Bengal half.
Tactically, they were extremely sound as well, and at the back, the heroics of goalkeeper Albino Gomes and centre back Kingsley caught a lot of attention as well. They forced TP Rehnesh to make some fine saves, and were extremely unlucky not to win the match. If they continue with this momentum, Aizawl can be a huge threat to the Big Three this campaign.
#3 Morgan got it tactically wrong
East Bengal shifted from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 to a 4-1-4-1 in the game, but none of these formations made a difference. Surprisingly, Trevor Morgan decided to field Rowllin Borges as a winger, which is not his natural position. Moreover, the decision to use Nikhil Poojary as a wide forward and not down the middle backfired as well.
Wedson also had a poor game and failed to make a substantial difference in his role. Of course, the fact that the referee was inconsistent and failed to notice that the Mizoram club played the last few minutes with 12 men on the pitch did not help the cause either.
However, the English coach will have to tinker with the squad and get it right at any cost the next time if East Bengal want to put the disappointing draw behind them. One hopes that he goes back to his favourite 4-2-3-1 formation and utilises his talented squad in the proper manner.
#4 East Bengal players looked unfit
A lot of the players looked unfit and performed far lower than the standards expected from them. Wedson Anselme would probably top the list, as the Haitian lost the ball frequently and laboured to bring the ball down with the first touch on several occasions.
The Red and Gold brigade also looked out of ideas when attacking down the middle and tried to play it through the wings all the time, which made it easier for the tall Aizawl defence. Morgan was confident that he would take care of the fitness levels of his players, but he has clearly failed to do so.
#5 Willis Plaza looks like the real deal
East Bengal fielded all three of their overseas players yesterday, and Willis Plaza looked the best of the lot. The Trinidad and Tobago forward came on after the break and helped to up the ante for the home side. He is tall, has brilliant ball control and deftly feinted past defenders on several occasions but just failed to deliver the end product.
The 29-year-old has all the ingredients to fit in the shoes of Ranti Martins, and one hopes that yesterday’s match will only help him grow as a match-winner for the Calcutta-based club.
