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East Bengal made a mockery of Jamshedpur FC by routing them by a 6-0 margin in their second match of the prestigious Durand Cup at the club ground on Tuesday.
For East Bengal, Jaime Santos Colado and Bidyasagar Singh scored a brace each and Pintu Mahata and Boithang Haokip scored a goal apiece. The win almost ensured the Red and Golds’ position in the semi-finals.
East Bengal will next play Bengaluru FC on August 14, but before that, they will face George Telegraph in the Calcutta Football League on Friday.
Let us look at the talking points of the game:
#5 Alejandro keeps promise, makes wholesale change in the team
On their first match of the season, East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez had made it clear that he will use Durand Cup and Calcutta Football League as preparatory tournaments for their upcoming season. Keeping his words, he almost overhauled the team in the second match.
He made nine changes in the first XI. Only Spaniard Jaime Santos Colado and midfielder Brandon Vanlalremdika retained their place in the team.
Asheer Akhtar, Naorem Tondomba Singh, Marti Crespi and Abhishek Ambekar made their debuts for the Red and Golds. Pintu Mahata, the talented young midfielder made his first start for the club as well.
Honestly, most of them played their part in the win. While Mahata scored a goal and provided an assist, Asheer and Ambekar also kept the defense tight. Only Crespi looked a bit shaky in his first match.
#4 Eye-catching performance from the Red and Golds
Unlike their previous match, where they had to toil hard before coming out with a win, East Bengal have made a mockery of Jamshedpyur FC on Tuesday. They made their intent very clear from the first minute, i.e, to pass the ball and create attacking movements.
Instead of closing their opponents out, Jamshedpur FC allowed East Bengal to play more freely. This helped the Red and Golds to create the tempo from the very beginning.
They repeatedly used the wing to create most of the chances. With their pace, Pintu Mahata and Naorem Tondomba Singh made life difficult for the Jamshedpur defenders. Also, wingbacks failed to come to their position after an overlap and East Bengal intelligently used the opportunity.
It was a beautiful attacking display for the whole team, much to the relief of their billions of supporters.
#3 Colado’s injury concern
It’s not often that you see a player scoring two goals and getting substituted, all within 12 minutes. Jaime Santos Colado did just that. But his substitution didn’t bring good news for the East Bengal camp.
It was learnt that Colado had a mild concussion after falling on his shoulder during a tackle. He asked for problem and the team management didn’t want to take risk. After the match, Menendez also said, “He suffered a very hard concussion. We have to take a closure look at him.” In all possibility, Santos might not play against George Telegraph in CFL on Friday.
But it took just five minutes for Santos to open the scoring. After getting a through ball, he rushed towards the goal before being fouled by Jamshedpur goalkeeper Amrit Gope. Santos coolly converted the spot-kick.
A minute later, he intercepted a miss pass from a Jamshedpur player and doubled his goal tally.
#2 After switching allegiance, Mahata regains the passion
Just a year ago, Pintu Mahata’s name was chanted just a few metres ahead of the East Bengal ground. Mohun Bagan supporters were amazed to see the boy from West Midnapore dominating the field.
It’s not easy to gain the trust of your rival club’s supporters. All over the world, football loving people never whole-heartedly welcome a player from their arch-rivals. There is no exception for East Bengal supporters as well.
Mahata came on as a substitute in the previous match but got little time to show his skills. But on Tuesday, he was it his best. His runs down the line and inside cuts forced people to stand and clap for the youngster.
The 21-year-old worked very hard on the field. With the ball, he tried to find his teammates, and without it, he tried to dispossess his opponents. With one goal and an assist, he deservedly earned the Man of the Match award as well.
#1 East Bengal need to keep the rhythm
It’s not easy to play two tournaments simultaneously and the English clubs know it very well. The coaches always try to rotate the players in order to keep everyone fit. For them, trophies doesn’t matter everytime.
But East Bengal supporters are very demanding. It doesn’t matter which tournament they are playing, they want silverware.
And this tournament is more important for them because if they win it, they would be the most successful team in the Durand Cup, leapfrogging arch-rivals Mohun Bagan.
Going by their opening two matches, East Bengal’s mission is going well but they need to keep the momentum and intensity consistent in order to bring success for the club.
