I-League: East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan - Player Ratings

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan player ratings

East Bengal and Mohun Bagan shared honours in the year’s first Kolkata Derby. Pierre Boya scored the opening goal of the match. Minutes later Ranti Martins cancelled out the goal from a brilliant header. Both the teams played attacking football and overall it was an entertaining affair.

Here’s a look at how each player fared in this mouth-watering derby match which ended 1-1.

East Bengal

Abhijeet Mondal: 5/10

Abhijeet Mondal had fill into the big shoes of in form goalkeeper Subhashish Roychowdhury, who suffered an injury 2 days back against Kalyani Bharat FC. Even though Mondal is an experienced custodian but he played his first game since 31st August 2014. He was at fault for conceding the goal. Mondal simply could not judge the flight even after coming forward from the goal line. Overall he had a very average day at office

Abhishek Das: 5.5/10

The youngster was chosen ahead of veteran Deepak Mondal in the crucial derby match. Abhishek did fairly well but looked nervous at times. Also he had the uphill task of covering the mighty Sony Norde, who operated from the left flank. Sony went passed Das with ease and was constantly imposing threat. Armando read the situation well and fielded Deepak Mondal early in the second half.

Raju Gaikwad: 6.5/10

Raju Gaikwad was selected to play in the first XI ahead of talented center back Arnab Mondal. Raju did fairly well in the center back position and won a few crucial tackles to prevent Mohun Bagan strikers at the important situations. Overall he was good today beside Milan Susak.

Milan Susak: 6.5/10

Milan Susak came back to the starting lineup after missing the last game due to injury. In Arnab’s absence he was given the responsibility to lead the East Bengal defense. He did his job well and was instrumental in stopping the opponents. Still, a better performance was expected from the Aussie center back.

Robert Lalthuama: 6/10

Robert replaced Saumik Dey in the starting XI due to the latter’s injury. Robert played rough football and was quite harsh with his tackles at times. He was lucky enough to escape an yellow in the first half when performed a dangerous tackle on Yusa Katsumi.

Shylo Malsawmtluanga: 8/10

Shylo Mama was the best player on the pitch today. The experienced winger worked very hard on the field. He tracked back often to help his defenders went up with zeal. He also provided the goal scoring assist to Ranti Martins.

Mehtab Hossain: 7/10

The old warhorse of East Bengal was as usual good. He worked hard and distributed the ball well towards his attackers. Except for a few rough tackles and useless long balls, Mehtab was good today.

Harmanjyot Singh Khabra: 6.5/10

He is the captain and the leader of the team. He marshaled his players well from the midfield and played impressive football in the first half. He was unfortunate enough to not to continue in the second half. He got injured and was replaced by Joachim Abranches in the beginning of the second half.

Lalrindika Ralte: 8/10

Lalrindika Ralte was announced as the man of the match today. Although he failed to perform as per his reputation and potential, Dika worked hard in the left wing position and attempted a few shots at the goal. Overall he had a good day at office

Dudu Omagbemi: 7/10

The Nigerian too came back to starting lineup after missing last game. Dudu has stayed out of action for most of the games and due to fitness concerns. Today also he did not look a 100%. He worked hard and supported Ranti well, but a fully fit Dudu would have been much better compared to his today’s performance.

Ranti Martins: 7.5/10

Ranti Martins missed the easiest chance of the day in 1st minute of the game where he could have finished from a one on one situation. He was just a few yards away from the goal and still failed to convert. Fortunately he scored the equalizing goal and saved the blushes for his team. He has made a habbit of scoring in almost every match for East Bengal but he is also missing a number of chances.

Substitutes

Joachim Abranches: 6/10

Joachim Abranches replaced Khabra in the second half. Abranches was fielded in the left wing and Dika was shifted to the central midfield. Abranches failed to create opportunities from the flank and was nowhere close to Dika’s performance. He even missed a half chance, where a little more pace could have helped him to beat Kingshuk and move to goal scoring position.

Deepak Mondal: 7/10

Deepak Mondal replaced an ineffective and nervous Abhishek Das in the second half. After Deepak’s arrival Sony Norde looked less dangerous and failed to move freely. Deepak played well today.

Cavin Lobo: N/A

Cavin Lobo came on late in the second half and thus did not have any impact on the game.

Mohun Bagan

Debjit Majumder: 7/10

Debjit maintained his position in the starting lineup ahead of Captain Shilton Paul. It was the goalkeeper’s maiden derby match and Majumder did impressively well in such a high voltage game. He although, could have done a little better during Ranti’s goal.

Pritam Kotal: 7/10

Pritam Kotal did well as usual and maintained his quality performance on the field. He is one of the upcoming defenders in the country and has a very bright future ahead. Today also he did fairly well and kept Lalrindika Ralte silent.

Kingshuk Debnath: 5/10

He was possibly the worst defender in Mohun Bagan colour today. His sloppy defending often invited threat over his team. He had a bad at office and would hopefully come out of this off-form soon.

Bello Razaq: 8/10

Bello Razaq was the standout performer for Mohun Bagan today. He was the leader in the Bagan defense and marshaled his fellow defenders well to restrict the East Bengal strike force.

Dhanachandra Singh: 7/10

Dhanachandra Singh was one of the busiest players on the pitch today. Mohun Bagan won many throw-ins and each and every throw was taken by the Manipuri defender. His long throws looked dangerous often and it failed to impose any threat on the East Bengal goal. His defending was fairly well too,

Katsumi Yusa: 8/10

As usual the Japanese did well on the right flank for his team today. His speedy runs down the flank, sudden position changes and wonderful floating crosses highlighted his game today. He was the best attacker for Mohun Bagan today without a doubt.

Denson Devadas: 7/10

Denson Devadas along with Bikramjit played from the central midfield. Denson was agile throughout the game distribute many good passed in the attack. Overall he had an impressive day at office.

Bikramjit Singh: 7/10

Bikramjit Singh is one of the finest recruits for Mohun Bagan this season. The young lad impressed many with his har working and eye-catching football. He played a pivotal role in the Green and Maroon midfield.

Sony Norde: 7/10

Sony Norde was used by Sanjoy Sen in the left wing position due to Boya’s arrival. Norde who is predominantly a winger enjoyed playing in his natural position. The only problem with Haitian was that at times he acted selfish and took a lot of time to release the ball.

Balwant Singh: 5/10

Balwant Singh possibly was the worst player for Mohun Bagan today. He remained ineffective for almost the entire game and wasted many half chances. He looked tired and lacked pace. Sanjoy Sen might think of fielding either Jeje Lapekhlua or CS Sabeeth instead of Singh in the coming fixtures.

Pierre Boya: 7.5/10

Pierre Boya played his first match in the Hero I-League after coming back from a serious injury. Boya did not look a 100% fit but he played impressively. Also he scored the opening goal of the match from an opportunistic header.

Substitutes

Manish Bhargav: N/A

Manish Bharagav came on late in the second half and thus did not have any impact on the game.

Shehnaz Singh: N/A

Shehnaz Singh came on late in the second half and thus did not have any impact on the game.

Lalkamal Bhowmick: N/A

Lalkamal Bhowmick came on late in the second half and thus did not have any impact on the game.