AGAIN LUCKY SILIGURI FOR EAST BENGAL; ILISH UP AND CHINGRI DOWN

By Shekhar Patra (TNI Siliguri)  |  Edited by R. Subrata (TNI Siliguri)

Webdesk, TNI Siliguri 2nd April, 2016: After all the hullabaloo the most awaited Derby between arch rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan started at Kanchenjungha Stadium, the newcomer in the I-League venues. Though most analyst and players termed the football ground as under prepared but it was at the end the enthusiasm which won the game and the hearts. The city of East Bengal fans Siliguri has set an example of preparing the ground in so much less time. The packed crowds, the lush green field all became a sitter for a match to happen here. Anyways, the match started at the right time with a gloomy sky. Mohun Bagan was into a complaining mood from the time the game started. Most of the players of Bagan resorted to complaining about the decisions. However, in the 37th minute of the game, a surprise call by the referee led the Mohun Bagan players into shatters. Luciano gets a yellow card for trying to close down on Ranty and fouling him. This resulted in a penalty against Bagan. Most of the analyst felt it could have been a benefit of the doubt. Bagan’s assistant manager lashed out at the officials and was finally asked to leave the field. Dong-Hyun Do of East Bengal took the penalty and he blasted it past Debjit in a top of the roof. GOALLL!!! It was 1-0 for East Bengal in the 39th minute. The crowd went insane in the stadium and there was deafening sound everywhere.

Till half time, the score line was 1-0 in favor of East Bengal. The game was moving on from one side to another until in the 60th minute in an excellent cross given to Do of East Bengal, Do missed a sitter. Goalkeeper Debjit of Bagan had made an excellent save. In the 73rd minute of the play, Do of East Bengal made amends to his last miss and scored after a tackling miss by Debnath of Bagan. Then score became 2-0 in favor of East Bengal. Everything was fine for East Bengal who was cruising towards victory. Then came the cover up shot at the goal, by the captain of Bagan Katsumi Yusa and the score line stood 2-1. The added time became a barrier for East Bengal. It was a whopping of 7 minutes. In the 4 minute of the added time, the replacement Sehnaj of East Bengal pulled up JeJe of Bagan in the box in the full glare of the referee. He got a yellow card but the worst was for East Bengal. It was a needless penalty against them. Jeje took the chance but alas the shot landed in the hands of the goalie Luis Barreto of East Bengal. All the hopes of Mohun Bagan for the equalizer were shattered and it was the lucky Siliguri. East Bengal won the game.

Photos: S. Raha (Siliguri), D. Singh (Siliguri)