I-League 2018-19: 3 reasons why East Bengal lost to Minerva Punjab

#2 Stout defending from Minerva

Minerva had an excellent aerial advantage thanks to the African defenders in their side

Before the match, Minerva Punjab coach Paul Munster had said his team will keep an eye to East Bengal’s strikers, especially Enrique Esqueda.

He kept his words and adopted for an ultra-defensive strategy against East Bengal. He fielded five defenders in his line-up including two foreigners.

Centre-back Lancine Toure was given the responsibility to block Enrique Esqueda. He did the job perfectly and gave Enrique no space to move in the whole match.

There were at least three defenders posted in Minerva’s half even when they were attacking. As a result, East Bengal couldn’t bite their teeth during a counter attack.

Minerva had an excellent aerial advantage thanks to the African defenders in their side. They foiled every East Bengal attack which came from the wings.

Not for a moment did the defenders lost their concentration in the match. East Bengal were too reliant on passing football.

But Minerva defenders kept the shape of their defence. Though there were minor mistakes, it was enough for them to earn all the points from the match.

They took their opportunities in attack too. Whenever they got the ball, they tried to taste red and gold defence.

William Opoku was at the centre of their attacks. Their perseverance ultimately paid off when the Ghanaian scored the only goal of the match in the 77th minute.

Minerva coach Paul Munster even conceded after the match that, “We tried to win the second ball and knew that even if we get a chance, we would score. That is what happened but we got more chances which we should’ve scored. However, for me a 1-0 or 4-0 remains the same importance.”