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East Bengal scripted a thumping 3-0 win over Pathachakra FC on Tuesday to gain back momentum after a stalemate against Calcutta Customs in the previous game at the Calcutta Football League 2018. Jobby Justin, who played his first match this season, scored a brace while Mahmoud Al Amna started from the beginning after Lalrindika was unavailable to play at their club ground.
Jobby Justin opened the scoring for the Red-and-Gold brigade when he headed a Lalramchullova cross into the net in the 14th minute. The striker was responsible for the second one too as his shot found the hands of Pathachakra’s defender and the referee pointed towards the spot. Laldanmawia converted from the spot in the 41st minute, while Jobby made it 3-0 in the 78th minute, placing the ball inside an unguarded net.
Mahmoud Al Amna started the game, unlike the previous matches, where he came on as a substitute. The Syrian combined well with the other players, especially Laldanmawia and Brandon. It was rumoured that Al Amna was not played the entire 90 minutes in the previous games to give him rest time ahead of a busy season, but the management kept him in the field for 84 minutes.
After a dramatic change of play from the previous game, Coach Bastab Roy was asked during the post-match press conference whether Al Amna was the game changer. In reply, he said, “Al Amna never started a match this season before today, but we still played well. It is a team game. Since Lalrindika was not available I had to start with Al Amna, but the win was due to a team effort. All the 11 players contributed to the win.”
Jobby Justin played brilliant football throughout, which was a good sign for East Bengal since they were lacking a finisher up front. “I am very happy for Jobby, he is not totally fit but he played better than I expected. But he needs more time to recover. That is why I substituted, to preserve him,” said Bastab Roy.
East Bengal will play their next match against Aryan FC on Saturday evening at the same venue, while Mohun Bagan is scheduled to play Peerless on Thursday evening at their home ground.
