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The moment finally came for East Bengal fans and supporters all across the world. The long wait, 22 months to be precise, have ended on a sweet note. East Bengal defeated arch-rivals Mohun Bagan by 3-2 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.
It was, in fact, the first win for East Bengal at this very ground. Their last win came on September 4, 2015, when the red and gold won by an emphatic 4-0. Also, this was their first win after seven winless matches against their local neighbours.
This was also an acid test for East Bengal’s Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez, who was criticised for his team selection and strategy when his team lost three matches consecutively.
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The win lifts East Bengal to the fifth place of the table with 12 points from seven matches. However, Mohun Bagan remains on eighth with nine points from seven matches.
There was no Sony Norde in Mohun Bagan’s line-up, but the advantage was with the green and maroon as most of their players had prior experience of playing this fixture. They deservedly took the lead when Azharuddin Mullick scored in the 12th minute utilising a brilliant move by Oman Elhusseiny.
East Bengal took six minutes to equalise when Laldanmawia scored from an unmarked position. The red and golds dominated the first half and got the lead just before the half-time whistle when Jobby Justin scored from a brilliant side volley.
In the second half, Eze Kinglsey was given marching orders for fouling Justin near the corner. From the resultant free-kick, Laldanmawia increased East Bengal’s lead.
Mohun Bagan, even after being down to 10-men, made a spirited fightback as Dipanda Dicka scored in the 75th minute. But East Bengal players kept their rhythm until the final moments.
#5 Hit: Jaime Santos (East Bengal)
As promised by the coach, new recruit of East Bengal club Jaime Santos Colado was included in the starting line-up. The young Spaniard made the occasion memorable with his impressive performance. Though he was a bit quiet in the second half, that doesn’t take away all the work he did in the first half.
From the first minute, Santos’ presence was visible inside the green and maroon box. He started making some wonderful plays using his excellent skills. His passes were eye-catching which left Mohun Bagan defenders on toes.
Santos operated from both the wings flexibly with his brilliant speed. He made swift and defence-splitting passes which were more dangerous for Mohun Bagan defenders and on some occasions, it could have ended as a goal.
It was his first half display that kept Mohun Bagan's defence on tenterhooks. Maybe because he was playing after one month, he was a bit sloppy in the second half.
#4 Flop: Eze Kingsley (Mohun Bagan)
Mohun Bagan’s captain and centre-back Eze Kingsley should be held responsible for the team’s defeat. When his side was showing fight-back, he was involved in an unnecessary challenge to Jobby Justin, which earned him the second yellow and subsequently a red card. That dented Mohun Bagan’s hopes.
Kingsley was targeting East Bengal attackers from the very first minute and most of his challenges were targeted at Jaime Santos, the attacker who changed wings smoothly made Kingsley’s job more difficult. He was clearly off the line whenever the ball fell to Santos’ feet. Santos was dragging him wide and there was no way left other than committing a foul.
In fact, Kingsley could have gotten a red card early in the second half, when he elbowed Santos’ face. However, the referee reprimanded him at that time. But again Kinglsey involved himself in another challenge. This time, he pushed Justin on the right corner after losing the ball to him.
The red card left a deep impact on the match as Mohun Bagan’s job was difficult even after a better show in the second half of the match.
#3 Hit: Yuta Kinowaki (Mohun Bagan)
The only player from the green and maroon side who took the field with some purpose. The Japanese midfielder was deployed as a defensive blocker initially and he did a creditable job by foiling East Bengal’s attack on the midfield.
In the second part, when Mohun Bagan made all the attacks, he came in upfront and helped his teammates with some excellent passes. In fact, almost all of Mohun Bagan’s attack came due to his creativity. On a day when Mohun Bagan’s midfield was outplayed by their opponents, Kinowaki's performance should please the coach.
Kinowaki also played an important role in the last face-off between the two sides in CFL. He has a tendency to control the ball and he did that very well. He won the battle against Kassim Aidara. But even after the lion-hearted performance from the Japanese, it was not enough for Mohun Bagan to make an impact on the match.
#2 Flop: Dipanda Dicka (Mohun Bagan)
Earlier this year in this same fixture, Cameroonian striker Dipanda Dicka stole the limelight with his brace in the absence of a certain Sony Norde. So when Mohun Bagan coach said yesterday that Norde was ruled out the match, all hopes were on Dicka.
However, it was not an ideal day for the Cameroonian. Though he scored a goal, his entire performance was not at all satisfactory. He failed to leave an impact on the match and was lost in the melee of East Bengal defence.
Dicka has already made a name for himself for scoring goals at important moments. But on Sunday, he was tightly marked by East Bengal defenders, particularly Borja Gomez. Dicka was not allowed much space inside the box to make a move.
Also, Dicka was at fault of missing one or two odd chances that came to him. One of them was a header in the second half which he hit on the side net despite getting a perfect angle to score.
#1 Hit: Laldanmawia Ralte (East Bengal)
All of the talks before the Derby were based on some particular players, mainly Sony Norde, Enrique Esqueda and even for Jaime Santos, who was going to make his debut.
On the contrary, no words were written on Laldanmawia Ralte, having scored two goals in two years against Mohun Bagan, the last of which came in September in Calcutta Football League. There were discussions on the local media about Azharuddin Mullick, who scored only one of his goals in this fixture some two years ago.
Danmawia, as he is famously called, was nursing an injury in the start of the season and missed five matches in I-League. But he immediately made an impact on his return by scoring against Gokulam in their last match.
However, he produced perhaps the best performance of his career against Mohun Bagan. Both the goals were brilliant. The first came in the 18th minute when he was played a beautiful ball by Justin. The Aizawl-born was standing in the gap between Kingsley and Lalchawnkima. He took a swift first touch and turned around quickly to beat Sankar Roy.
The second one came in a crucial moment and turned out to be the winning goal. From a free-kick off Lalrindika Ralte, Laldanmawia rose above everyone and made a bullet header which was initially saved by Sankar. But even before the ball could touch the ground, Laldanmawia scored from the rebound.
This brace takes his goal tally to three and suddenly made him a hero among supporters overnight, which was long due.
