East Bengal rout Kalyani Bharat FC 3-0

Nigerian duo seal 3 points for the Kolkata giants

East Bengal thumped 3 goals to secure a crucial win over Kalyani Bharat FC in Pune. Dudu Omagbemi scored twice in the 16^th and 23^rd minute to give East Bengal a formidable lead in the first half. Ranti Martins scored his 13th goal of the tournament from the penalty spot in the 70^th minute to seal the deal in favour of the Kolkata side. Cavin Lobo played a stellar role in midfield, providing the platform for the first two goals.

East Bengal was under immense pressure to win this crucial away tie against Kalyani Bharat FC as they had lost their previous two encounters against arch rivals Mohun Bagan and Royal Wahingdoh last week. They had to pick up three points from this tie to move up in the table.

The Red and Gold brigade played cool and composed football keeping possession from the start. Bharat FC had to run around as the away side was just maintaining possession. For a change, East Bengal was playing quality, possession football.

East Bengal got their reward of playing quality football in the 16^th minute, when Cavin Lobo crafted a wonderful cross from the left flank towards Dudu Omagbemi. The out of form Nigerian calmly headed the ball home to draw first blood. A minute later, Lalrindika Ralte attempted a long range shot at the goal which the Bharat FC custodian had to stretch hard to keep the score 1-0.

East Bengal was imposing continuous pressure on the opponent’s half and Bharat FC defenders looked clueless. In the 23^rd minute, Cavin Lobo pinged a brilliant long ball from towards Dudu Omagbemi, who used his weaker foot to guide the ball past Arindam Bhattacharya to double his side’s lead.

Stuart Watkiss replaced his U23 striker Rajinder Kumar in the 27^th minute to bring Surajit Bose. Kalyani Bharat FC attacked in patches but failed to trouble a compact East Bengal defense. Most of their attempts were wayward, which did not bother Abhijeet Mondal much. The first half ended with the away team leading by a formidable margin of two goals.

East Bengal keep the pressure up in the 2^nd half as well

East Bengal continued their dominance in the second half as well. In the 52^nd minute, they could have bagged a third goal. Cavin Lobo yet again played a wonderful through ball towards Ranti Martins, who had just the goalkeeper in front of him. Ranti tried to place the ball to the side of the goalkeeper, but Arindam showed great reflexes to stop Ranti’s shot

In the 69^th minute, Ranti received a through ball at the edge of the box. He chased the ball well and entered the penalty box, only to be blocked and fouled by Arindam Bhattacharya. Straight away, a penalty was awarded and Ranti scored from the spot to hammer the last nail in Bharat FC’s coffin. After the third goal, Eelco Schattorie played it safe by bringing in another defender Raju Gaikwad to seal the game.

Kalyani Bharat FC tried desperately in that phase to secure a consolation goal. They attacked in numbers, but the East Bengal defence stayed solid in front of the impressive Abhijeet Mondal, who was superb under the woodwork. In the 80^th minute, Romauld Boco attempted a brilliant long range shot at the goal from Bobby Hassell’s thrown in, but Abhijeet pulled off a superb save to guide the ball over the post.

East Bengal bagged full points from this fixture to move above Salgaocar in the league table. Few more quality performances like this may see them among the top three in the table. Despite a dominant performance, the thing that would make Schattorie happy would be Dudu Omagbemi regaining his long lost form.