Kolkata: Among the partisan crowds present at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday to watch East Bengal’s I League opener against Aizawl FC, there were two key members of Mohun Bagan club taking a note of the proceedings from the stands. One among the two will be seen in action donning the Bagan mid-field while the other will share his inputs to the coach Sanjoy Sen.
Ansumana Kromah will have the responsibility to take control of the midfield against East Bengal in the derby coming up on December 03 at the same venue. Bagan assistant coach Shankarlal Chakraborty’s inputs will be crucial for the Mariners team management ahead of the derby.
Until the time they were present at the stands East Bengal were not successful in breaking the deadlock. As a matter of coincidence the Kolkata giants took the lead through Eduardo as soon as both left the stadium after 68 minutes. In fact the Red and Golds powered in another goal but could not hold on to the lead. William scored a brace for the defending champions to deny East Bengal the full points ahead of the all important derby.
There were two other gentlemen at the VVIP stands to witness the I League clash. Indian Super League (ISL) franchise ATK’s technical director Teddy Sheringham was accompanied by assistant coach Ashley Westwood to watch the match at Salt Lake Stadium. The former Manchester United star was entertained to some enthralling battle in the middle with both teams creating opportunities to score. As many as three goals were scored during the regulation before the ATK technical director and coach made way to their hotel. Both of them missed the injury time goal scored by Aizawl. The East Bengal supporters would have wished the two British coaches stayed on till the final whistle as they conceded the goal immediately after they left the stadium. While the handful of Aizawl fans surely must be relieved to see them leave.