Internet Desk: East Bengal did everything in the game other than finishing the innumerable chances which they created in the all important semi final Derby of the Fed Cup.
East Bengal lost 2-0 to their arch rivals Mohun Bagan will play the finals against Bengaluru FC who defeated I-League champs Aizawl FC in the other semi finals.
Mohun Bagan led 1-0 in the first half after a late strike from Balwant Singh ensured a 2-0 victory for the Mariners.
East Bengal controlled and dominated the game from the very beginning; they even had more ball possession and more attacks than their opponents but failed time and again to put the ball behind the back of the Net. East Bengal forwards Willis Plaza, Md. Rafique tried their chances many a times but either it was a superb save from the Bagan goalie Debjit Mazumder, who was adjudged the Hero of the match or the shots were wide off-target
Asst. Coach Ranjan Chowdhury said his team nearly scored in 5-6 occasions but alas they failed to score each and every time.
“Derby matches are very crucial, if you get one chance you will have to score. I am not giving any excuse but we dominated the entire game, they came in few occasions and scored and they won. But Football is like that, it is highly unpredictable” said Chowdhury.
Chowdhury feels that had this scenario occurred before the team would have been motivated and would looked to score goals in the next match but unfortunately this happened to be East Bengal’s last game of the campaign.
He indirectly criticised Willis Plaza as well. He said, “Plaza has many good qualities, but for a striker, the key is to score goals.”
“The boys played well, they tried their level best but we couldn’t win. We had practiced a lot but we couldn’t score today” added Chowdhury.