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After two consecutive defeats in the 2022-23 Indian Super League (ISL) season, East Bengal (EB) will next face NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Thursday, October 21.
Ahead of the game, East Bengal head coach Stephen Constantine insisted that the Red and Gold Brigade are slowly finding their rhythm.
In the ISL opener, the Torchbearers suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Kerala Blasters. Then, in their first home game of the season, they conceded an injury-time goal to lose 2-1 to FC Goa.
However, Constantine believes there are positives from both those games that his team will need to inculcate into their system going forward. In a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, October 18, the Englishman stated:
"We had some good moments in the game against Kerala Blasters and kept them at bay for 72 minutes. Then in the second game, we were much better, and in the second half, we dominated, I felt. We played well in parts but now I think we need to put two halves together and be consistent.
"We are starting to find a rhythm and saw this in training also. The last couple of days we have been working very hard and hopefully, on Thursday we get a positive result."
NorthEast United are coming into the game on the back of a 3-0 drubbing against Hyderabad FC. However, in their opening game against Bengaluru FC, the Highlanders showed great resilience and were unlucky to come away without a point, losing 1-0.
Speaking about their upcoming opponents, Constantine said:
"We take each team that we face as a special case. Every team is different and has different individuals. So we will approach NorthEast United in the same way we prepared for Kerala and FC Goa. They have different personnel and we will adapt to that."
Stephen Constantine lashes out at the "unnecessary" abuse directed towards Sumeet Passi by East Bengal fans
As the poor results keep piling on, Sumeet Passi has emerged as the player to face the wrath of the fans. The Red and Gold Brigade have regularly questioned his inclusion in the squad right from the Durand Cup matches.
Despite the criticism, the former RoundGlass Punjab FC player has consistently featured in East Bengal's starting line-up.
Constantine defended Passi and underlined that fans should be more "mindful" of the player's emotions, saying:
"I don't know from where he is getting all this unnecessary abuse from. He has played as a right-back, right midfielder, and even up front for us. He works non-stop.
"Is he the best player in the side? No. But he has worked his socks off in all the games and training. He had a bad game against FC Goa and that's why I took him off. I don't have favorites."
Constantine added:
"I think we have to be a little mindful as he has feelings as well and we have to make sure that all the players are okay."
It remains to be seen if East Bengal will manage to collect their first points of the season on Thursday.
