East Bengal came back from behind to beat defending champions Bengaluru FC at the Barasat stadium. The home team were the deserving winners after going behind to a CK Vineeth goal, but they bit back through an Ivan Bukenya’s goal from a well-worked corner.
Also Read: I-League 2017 - Robin Singh strike clinches win for East Bengal against Bengaluru FC
The Red and Yellow Brigade were the better side in the second half, beating Bengaluru FC’s high defensive line multiple times. But, Trinidadian striker Willis Plaza couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities which fell to him.
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Ultimately, it was former Blues striker who won the League with Bengaluru FC, Robin Singh who put one past Amrinder Singh to send the Barasat stadium into delirium. There were obviously a few very good performances from both sides, and a few not so good, so here they are.
East Bengal Players
Rehenesh TP
Rehenesh had a comfortable game, much more comfortable than he would have thought it would be when he went to sleep last night. He made a brilliant save from Euegeneson’s volley just before the half time to keep the score to 1-1.
His distribution though, left a lot to the imagination. He gave the ball away way to easily for Trevor Morgan to sleep well at night.
Rating - 6
Rahul Bheke
Rahul unexpectedly had a very easy game although he didn’t produce one of those displays where he runs up and down the right-hand side. But, Sunil Chhetri didn’t get much purchase apart from a couple of long distance shots.
He made a lovely headed clearance around the 55th minute when he diverted a cross from Lenny Rodrigues from an onrushing Sunil Chhetri. That is a job well done.
Rating – 7
Ivan Bukenya
Awarded the Man of the Match award, and rightly so. He was a beast at the back, he won every ball in the box against CK Vineeth (who by the way is very good in the air).
He defended his side’s left-hand side brilliantly, the same side from which Bengaluru FC scored three goals last game against Mumbai FC. His goal was the easiest of finishes, but he had to be there. Two goals already this season.
Nothing like a central defender who scores important goals from time to time.
Rating - 9
Gurwinder Singh
He also had a quiet-ish game, which is especially surprising. On paper, he would have been a weakling, and I have absolutely no doubt that the Bengaluru FC staff would have pointed that out ahead of the game.
He made a brilliant last-ditch tackle to deny CK Vineeth a goal in the fifteenth minute. Apart from that, I have no recollection of him playing in the game, and that I guess is a good thing.
Rating - 6
Narayan Das
Bengaluru FC’s best player in the first two games was Udanta Singh, and with East Bengal playing a narrow midfield three, Narayan Das had to take care of Udanta Singh and ex-East Bengal man Harmanjot Khabra.
He did that, and then did some more. He marked Udanta out of the game, and when his replacement Roby Norales came on, he did the same to him. No wonder he’s Constantine number one.
Rating - 8
Nikhil Poojary
One of the two U-22 players in the East Bengal squad. With Avinash Ruidas doing his best impression of a drunken Irishman, his starting place is assured. If there were any questions on whether he would get into the team on merit, he put them to rest.
He was brilliant with the ball throughout the game, playing good balls down the line, and getting back to held Rahul with Sunil Chhetri. He should have ideally got an assist (at the least), but Plaza wasn’t in the mood.
Probably should have scored when put in by Mehtab Hossain put him through, but his attempted dink/shot/touching the ball with his feet was straight at Amrinder Singh.
Rating – 7
Mehtab Hossain
As always, feisty. Riled up Sunil Chhetri quite unnecessarily with a little poke at the back, and put himself under pressure against Eugeneson Lyghdoh. Thankfully for him, Bengaluru FC went off the boil in the second half.
He broke the lines brilliantly for a pass for Poojary, but the wide man couldn’t capitalise on the ball. Went off to an injury, and East Bengal fans will be hoping and praying that he’s back as soon as humanly possible.
Rating- 6.5
Wedson Anselme
Ohh Wedson, why do you hold onto the ball for that long? He isn’t a striker, he isn’t a number 10, he isn’t a winner, and neither is he a midfielder. Can we see Rowllin from next game please?
Rating - 5
Lalrindika Ralte
To be honest, I was really surprised to see him given the armband ahead of Mehtab Hossain. But, he played quite well. He has a brilliant left-foot and he is an honest player.
His interplay with Wedson for the goal was a good, and the cross was pin-point. Should have been booked for the tackle from behind from Eugeneson in the first half, but well, being a nice guy helps. There was a brilliant ball over the top for Willis Plaza in the second half, but nothing really came off that.
Rating – 6.5
Willis Plaza
39’ Nutmegs Juanan, but should have finished.
62’ Should have scored
66’ Should have scored
75’ Should not have held on to the ball for that long, with two men up with him
81’ Should have scored
93’ Should have scored.
Those are my unedited/unadulterated notes on the Trinidadian. Well, one of those games I guess.
Rating - 6
Ildar Amirov
I honestly didn’t see him touch the ball. Honestly. Only noticed that he was playing when Robin Singh came on for him.
Rating - 4
Robin Singh
Boy, he looked up for the game. He worked hard, recovered the ball up the field. He probably slowed down too soon for his chance around the 55th minute but ended up with a good shot at the end. That set the tone for the second half.
His dink/shot was lovely and would have been something if that went in. He scored the winning goal (obviously) and pounded the East Bengal logo. Football, I so love you.
Rating- 8
Rowllin Borges
Slotted into Mehtab’s position when he went off. Did nothing of note, and neither did Bengaluru FC. So cheers.
Rating - NA
Bengaluru FC’s Players
Amrinder Singh
Hands down Bengaluru FC’s best player, and when your goalkeeper is your best player, it is not necessarily the best thing. He came out brilliantly to save Poojary’s shot on goal.
He made a brilliant tackle when Plaza was through on goal, and when he denied Wedson Anselme near the end of the game.
Rating – 7.5
Harmanjot Khabra
Good on the ball. Neat interplay, but his crossing is dreadful. East Bengal knew that, and allowed him to cross. The problem is Harmanjot knows that too, so he doesn’t cross a lot.
Apart from that, he was good defensively.
Rating – 5.5
John Johnson
Johnson was brilliant in the first half against the duo of Ildar and Willis, especially in the air. But, he struggled in the second half with the high line as they pushed for a goal. Speed is not really his bread and butter.
Nevertheless, you would expect him to organise better with the experience he has in the League now.
Rating – 6.5
Juanan
This is the first really poor game he has had after joining the Bengaluru shirt. He didn’t get the time to get on the ball and pass it as he does in the Kanteerva, and with the East Bengal strikers targeting him, he struggled.
He got nutmegged by Willis Plaza, and run over by Nikhil Poojary. Sandesh Jhingan suddenly has a chance to play in central defence.
Rating - 5
Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte
Sena Ralte came to Bengaluru FC on the back of a wonderful Indian Super League season. He even had a cracker jacker of a first game, which he concluded with a thunderbolt from outside the box.
But, the cracks were apparent when Prashanth of Chennai City FC exposed him during the second game. Thankfully for him, Albert Roca took him out of the firing line, against Thoi Singh. On Sunday though, almost all the attacks were directed through Bengaluru’s left.
Nikhil Poojary probably had the best game of his life, and Willis Plaza kept running in behind the fullback. Time to get Nishu Kumar back into the lineup?
Rating - 4
Cameron Watson
It was one of those games for the Australian. At his best, he controls the tempo of the game, keeping possession and getting the ball into the forwards as soon as possible.
But, on Sunday, the game seemed to pass him by. His passing wasn’t off, but he couldn’t give the centre-backs the protection required to cope with the duo of Willis and Robin in the second half. The second balls too were more often than not collected by Mehtab and Didika.
He’ll be having better games in the Blue shirt.
Rating – 6
Lenny Rodrigues
His return to Kolkata. That too against arch rivals East Bengal, and like Watson the game sort of passed him by. There was that one cross in the second half to the back post which could have easily been a header to the back of the net by Sunil, but apart from that nothing in an attacking sense.
Did his job, but not well enough.
Rating – 6.5
Udanta Singh
Despite being only 20, Udanta is often the guy burdened to be the creative force behind Bengaluru’s attack, and his talent, more often than not, sees him come up with the goods.
Squaring up against probably the best left back in the country, Udanta could manage only two crosses into the box. Probably as instructed by his coach, he didn’t venture in-field where he could have managed some sort of joy.
Rating - 6
Eugeneson Lyngdoh
He was the best outfield player for the Blues by a margin. In the first half, he caused all sort of problems for the East Bengal backline, who couldn’t deal with the movement of the Number 10.
He kept popping up in space and ran in behind Gurwinder quite a bit. His lovely run and pullback allowed CK Vineeth to slot home the opener. He probably would be disappointed to have hit the volley off the mistake by Ivan Bukenya directly at the goalkeeper. All in all, a good game.
The Blues would have been sad to see him come off.
Rating – 7.5
Sunil Chhetri
A needless fight with Mehtab Hossain, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the game for the Bengaluru FC and the Indian National Team captain.
He has started his third game from the left for the Blues and hasn’t had the impact that you would expect of him. Is it is his best position? “He is good everywhere,” said Albert Roca after the game. Well, we’ll find out soon.
Rating -5.5
CK Vineeth
Vineeth has definitely had a whirlwind transformation from last year, he was the one who you would associate with great running off the ball but ultimately no finish at the end of things. A brilliant AFC Cup run and an equally brilliant ISL season, and he just might be the best Indian striker around.
His goal was again the virtue of being at the right position when it came into the box, and he did finish it well. Tried an acrobatic overhead towards the end of the game, which made Novy Kapadia say his favourite lines “The last Indian player to score an overhead was Baichung Bhutia”.
Didn’t get enough service at the end.
Rating - 7
Roby Norales
Probably was expected to do much more than he did when he came on, but was well marshalled on the right by Narayan Das? Is his best position a striker? Questions, questions.
Rating - NA
Alwyn George
Didn’t see enough of the ball to make an impact.
Rating - NA
Daniel Lalhlimpuia –
Too little too late.
Rating - NA
