East Bengal cruised to a 2-0 victory over West Bengal Police in their second fixture of the ongoing Calcutta Football League on Monday. Man of the match, Lalrindika Ralte, who scored the first goal for the home side, revealed how his new position was influenced by their technical director, Subhash Bhowmick.
After a dominating start to the first half, the red-and-gold outfits drew first blood after Kassim Aidara’s lethal centre was slotted home by Lalrindika Ralte, following a deflection. Aidrara and Lalrindika were the main architects in the midfield for the Kolkata giants. A Lalramchullova cross from the left was well headed by Aidara to secure the full three points from the tie in front of their vociferous supporters.
Lalrindika Ralte, who is back in East Bengal after one-and-a-half years owing to his stint with North East United FC, played brilliantly throughout the 90 minutes at their club ground and was adjourned the best player of the evening. Ralte played in a more responsible position rather than his usual attacking midfielder role.
Ralte played deep in the midfield and distributed the ball forward, which was effective. During the post-match press conference, he gave credit to East Bengal’s technical director, Subhash Bhowmick for bringing the best out of him.
Regarding the matter, he said, “Subhash and I know each other very well from our Churchill times, so he knows me very well. He tried to play me under the striker and so I accepted it.”
He added by saying, “It is very important to score a goal as a striker, the goal made me more confident to play in this position. So it’s very important and I’m very lucky to score in this match.”
The Kolkata giants will play their next match against Calcutta Customs on Friday evening. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan will be up against Rainbow FC on Tuesday at their club ground.