Not The Match, East Bengal Won The Heart

When coach Steven Constantine took the footballers to the front of the gallery after a goalless draw with the Indian Navy, Yuva Bharati of Kolkata was greeted by roars from the East Bengal fans. Their favorite team did not win the first match of the Durand Cup. Suhair V. P., Alex Lima, squandered numerous goal chances. However, the thousands of red and yellow people are not angry at all. This exceptional scene of Kolkata football was seen at Yuva Bharati Sports Stadium on Monday evening.

At the moment, Steven’s situation is like the main boss of the world of scarcity. It’s as if the team is running out of salt. There was no second goalkeeper on the team that day. If Kamaljit Singh got injured, the former coach of the national team might have to bring down a defender or forward to handle the fortress of red and yellow! Because another goalkeeper Pawan Kumar has not been able to practice for the past few days due to illness. Veteran Subhasish Roy Chowdhury has not been signed yet due to physical problems.

Details of the players 

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Naveen Kumar was signed from FC Goa a few hours before the start of the match on Monday to deal with the situation. Two of the five foreigners, Clayton Silva and Leandro dos Santos, arrived in Kolkata on Sunday. Against the Navy, he kept only Alex Lima on the list of 17. On top of that, Naorem Mahesh Singh left the field with an ankle injury in the 11th minute. Bengal’s Tuhin Das played brilliantly as a replacement.

East Bengal had the opportunity to advance in the beginning despite all the odds. But Mohammad Mobashir’s shot from outside the opposition penalty box was so weak that Navy keeper Beluta Vishnu had no trouble catching it. In the 21st minute, Amarjit Singh Kiyam incredibly put the ball over the crossbar in front of an empty goal. In the 54th minute, Sumit Passi’s shot hits the post. In the 74th minute, he got the ball in a one-on-one situation and beat the goalkeeper.

All about the thrilling match

The return ball was hit outside as substitute player Lima. In the 83rd minute, Suhair also wasted an easy goal chance. In the 88th minute, Tuhin’s center floated into space, and Sumit headed in, brilliantly saved by Vishnu.

Kaushik Dutta, a fan of East Bengal who came to watch the match at Yuva Bharati, said, “If the whole team had a chance to practice together for a few more days, the season would have started with a win. But Suhair played positive football in the first match. This team is much stronger than the last two seasons. The picture will change once the rest of the foreigners come. Hopefully, that will be seen in the derby against Mohun Bagan on August 28.” Even though Steve could not give the East Bengal fans a win in the first match, he made it clear that his team is ready to fight.