Historical Win for East Bengal against Army XI
Barasat: East Bengal rally to beat Army XI 2-1 in their third match of the CFL campaign today at Barasat stadium. Md. Rafique (48′) and Jiten Murmu (58′) netted a goal each for East Bengal while Army XI reduced the deficit by a goal from Alwyn (79′).
Korean attacker, Do Dong-Hyun was dropped from the playing eleven as Calum Angus returned to the team. Jiten Murmu and Somide Adelaja were the striking pair while DIka featured in the midfield replacing Gurwinder singh in the defensive line.
Army XI seemed to be the more organised team in the opening moments with a flurry of crosses and passes all across the field. But East Bengal made a meal of whatever chance they got early on. The game caught on in snail’s pace in the flag end of the first half where excitement seemed hard to come by.
Within two minutes of resumption from the break, Mohammed Rafique diligently found the net with a right footer. Skipper Arnab Mondal’s long ball from the right had many takers but all of them who rose above the ground fell short as Rafique, slightly on the left side of the box drove the ball in with ease.
Abhinash Ruidas displayed extreme pace down the wings and he was the chief architect of the second goal. His pinpoint cross from the left towards Jiten Murmu had the Army XI defense befuzzled as the youngster drilled past the keeper with a delectable header.
However, the clean sheet for East Bengal could not be kept as Luis Barreto did well to punch off the initial ball from Sunil on the right wing but the loose ball inside the box saw Alwyn get one back for the men in White.
Jiten Murmu had another glaring chance in the dying moments of injury time, which went off as he shot to the keeper’s legs which saw the ball fly off and somehow lodged into the top net, instead of going inside.
Trevor Morgan did not look too pleased with his side’s performance as he said, “We could have won the match by a huge number of goals. At the end of the day the three valuable points matter to me. We excelled well in the second half which helped us gather the three points.”
Mehtab Hossain who suffered a hamstring strain in the match seems to be uncertain for the next match as he said, “I don’t think I will be available in the next game. I have got three days in hand. Lets hope for the best.”
With three wins on the trot, East Bengal got top of the table with nine points. Trevor Morgan’s men next face United SC at the Barasat Stadium on Tuesday, 16 August.