U-18 I League: East Bengal to host Mohun Bagan in return leg derby amidst high security

EBvMB U-18 I League
East Bengal Coach Sujit Chakraborty & Mohun Coach Jo Paul Anchery held a joint press conference at the East Bengal club | Image: XtraTime

Kolkata: Tight security arrangements will be in place for the return leg derby of U-18 I League between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan at the East Bengal ground on Tuesday. There have been tensions around in both camps ahead of the return leg derby, following the crowd trouble in the last match on December 01. In unprecedented measure coaches of both teams Jo Paul Anchery and Sujit Chakraborty held a joint press conference at the East Bengal club.

Both coaches jointly appealed to the fans to keep a control of their emotions tomorrow and enjoy the match peacefully. The hosts East Bengal club has already informed the police headquarters in Lal Bazar to deploy more forces suspecting crowd trouble. Visiting Mohun Bagan fans will be allowed to sit on the other side of the East Bengal members stand.

According to Mr Debabrata Sarkar, “We have requested the police to take proper measures so that no untoward incident takes place. On behalf of East Bengal club, we are making an appeal to all the fans from both teams to enjoy the match in a sporting spirit.”

The derby will have another interest, particularly for East Bengal club as a competitive match will be played at the ground after a gap of almost 6 months. The ground was closed for any practice since July as the ground was relayed. The senior East Bengal team is supposed to start training under Coach Trevor James Morgan from December 19.

U-18 East Bengal coach Sujit Chakraborty voiced his apprehensions about the ground, “The ground was closed for a long time. Even the Kolkata league matches could not be held. Do not know how the conditions will be like.”

Mohun Bagan coach Jo Paul Anchery is hopeful about putting up a good fight against the arch rivals. “We hope to put up a good fight against them. The boys will draw confidence from the fact that they came from behind to draw the last match. We need to encourage the boys rather than criticize them.”

The last Kolkata derby in the U-18 I League turned violent due to crowd trouble on December 01.The situation got so worse one time that police had to intervene. There were two stoppages in each halves as the police mounted on their horses rushed into the ground. Although there were no reports of injuries but the situation got out of control. The match though ended in 1-1 stalemate.