East Bengal edge past Army Red with two goals

by Rounak Majumdar August 3, 2019

03/08/2019, East Bengal Ground, Kolkata: The Red and Gold brigade recently completed their centenary year. On their opening game of the season, the home side emerged triumphant against the sturdy Army Reds team by a 2-0 margin.

The match remained goalless throughout the first half. Many probable goal scoring chances were created by both sides. East Bengal was very close to open the scoring sheet as they hit the cross-bar twice in the first half. During the initial stage, the East Bengal defence seemed a bit shaky whereas the Army defence stood robust.

As the second half commenced, the home team launched steady attacks to crumble the opposition. Army Reds were never let down by the home support and the pressure put by East Bengal. They kept their calm and went on to play counter-attacking football whenever possible. However, as the clock ticked the 84th mark, a sublime through-ball was played to Bidyasagar Singh, who intended to go past the keeper to score the first goal. The Army keeper, Muhammed Shanoos PP, left with no choice pulled Singh’s t-shirt just outside the box and took a red card for his team. As it stood, his sacrifice didn’t bear the fruits. The first blood was drawn from a Jaime Santos Colado free-kick. The Red & Gold brigade marched steadily to double their lead during the dying moments. Ironically, Bidyasagar Singh, the man who was stopped from scoring earlier, concluded the match. He scored for East Bengal at the 90th minute.

At the post-match press conference, the Army Reds manager, Anustup Sarkar, expressed his dissatisfaction with the refereeing. Meanwhile, East Bengal gaffer, Alejandro Menendez Garcia explained how satisfied he was with the display from his boys. East Bengal will play their next match on 8th August against the ISL outfit, Jamshedpur FC at the East Bengal Ground. Army Reds will lock horns against Bengaluru FC on 5th of August at the VYBK Stadium.