If you ask any football pandit in India what the biggest advertisement of Indian football is, they will say the Kolkata Derby. If you are here to witness the Kolkata Derby, you will expect fireworks. This Derby was not the exception.
It is the fourth time these two arch-rivals are facing off against each other, but you can’t see any decrease in the number of fans. The match also lived up to its expectations.
After the kickoff, the first goal of the match came quickly, and it was in favour of East Bengal in the 3rd minute of the match.
On the left wing, Mahesh was controlling the ball, and Kiyan and Héctor were with him. But nobody noticed Nishu Kumar was running through the touch line. He received the ball easily and crossed to the box for Ajay Chhetri. Nobody was marking him, and he found the net without any pressure.
In the 8th minute of the match, Lalchungnunga used high boot on Sadiku in the box, but the referee was unmoved.
Eventually, in the 13th minute of the match, Anwar Ali was forced to go out due to a muscle pull, and Amandeep came in his place as a substitute.
Mohun Bagan found the equaliser in the 17th minute of the match. Kiyan was carrying the ball through the right wing. He gave a minus to Hamill. He crossed the ball into the box, and Armando Sadiku finished it in the net with calm and composed style. The first ended with a 1-1 scoreline.
At the start of the second half, in the 46th minute, Nishu Kumar fouled Manvir and Sadiku, both within five seconds. The referee gave the foul but hasn’t shown any cards.
When Dimitri was taking the free kick, East Bengal player Sayan Banerjee was very close to him. Dimi wanted to point it out to the referee and linesman, but they ignored it. He moved before Dimitri’s kick. Eventually, it turned into a counterattack for East Bengal.
Just after that, in the 48th minute, Ajay Chhetri brutally fouled Hamill, but referee Rahul Kumar Gupta gave him only a yellow card. The same show sent a red card to Asish Rai for the same kind of foul against Mumbai City.
Hamill was forced to go out in the 51st minute, and Glan Martins came in his place.
In the 53rd minute, the referee gave a penalty to East Bengal because Deepak Tangri “pushed” him into the box. I thought the ball was not under the control of Mahesh. Cleiton Silva made it 2-1 with that.
Multiple shorts went here and there for both sides until the 86th minute. In the 87th minute, Amandeep crossed the ball into the box, Hijazi headed out the ball, and it fell into the leg of Nandakumar. Nanda slipped the ball as Sahal was on his back. Sahal regained the ball and crossed it into the box. The ball deflected to Nunga and went to Dimitri. He finished it into the net.
Mohun Bagan equalised again.
The match ended with a 2-2 result.
Weaknesses:
- Man-marking was very ordinary sometimes. The first goal came because of that.
- Hamill is more flexible on the flanks, and Héctor is in the box. They should rotate the position during an opponent’s counterattack. The coach needs to look into this matter.
- The amount of foul should be reduced.
- The wing play was not happening properly.
Casualties:
- Anwar Ali and Branden Hamill are injured. They will be out for almost two weeks.
- Armando Sadiku and Deepak Tangri will also be unavailable due to yellow cards.
- The status of Asish Rai is also not clear.
- Liston will be unavailable due to suspension.
Ratings:
Vishal Kaith: 7
You don’t need to say more about him. His distribution, outing, and presence of mind are top-notch.
Héctor Yuste: 7
He is doing his job silently, as usual. After Anwar was subbed off, he managed the game quite well. He hasn’t made any individual errors.
Branden Hamill: 5
His main marking is not up to par. Though he provided the much-important cross for the first goal, he is more comfortable as a CDM.
Anwar Ali: N/A
Amandeep: 7
We have to praise his calm and composed behaviour. Derby is a high-voltage game. He held his nerve properly. His future is bright.
Deepak Tangri: 5
The most inconsistent player. But along with any foreign CDM, he can manage his game openly.
Anirudh Thapa: 5
His long passes were good, but during the trackback, he was not up to par. Maybe this is not his right position.
Sahal Abdul Samad: 7
Considering his long injury, he played quite well and took the lead in the absence of Hugo Boumous. The ball release timing should be improved.
Kiyan Nassiri: 6
As a winger, he is improving in every match. But Mahesh and Nanda beat him quite a few times. Defensive ability is lower.
Armando Sadiku: 7.5
There are no complaints about his efforts. The result could have been different if he was able to convert that ball from 7 yards. Along with that, the long-range shorts, body shielding, and physical presentation to opponent defenders are quite impressive. He has every quality of a box striker. He has to increase his conversion rate.
Manvir Singh: 5
As a substitution, it’s okay. Needs to improve more.
Sumit Rathi: 5
He is more comfortable as an LB than a CB. have to change his positioning sense.
Glan Martins: 4
He has to be more careful during the final tackles.
Jason Cummings: 2
He hasn’t done anything significant.
Subhasish Bose: 6
He is more comfortable defending as a CB than overlapping as a left back. The result could have been different if he had converted that free header.
Dimitri Petratos: 8.5
The only proper leader in the team. We don’t need to say anything about him, but he has to keep his mind calm in any heated situation.
Dimitri Petratos was selected as the Player of the Match. He said after the match:
“It was a tough game, but we showed character to come back twice. They (East Bengal) were physical, but we handled them well. The fans were amazing.”
Manager’s View:
“The word is belief. Football is nothing without intensity, attitude, and discipline. We have to improve. Today, the team had a good performance. I am very happy with the performance today.”
“It is very clear that what is given is not a penalty. It was impossible for us to play in the second half; there were more interruptions and fouls, but the referee continued the game. With that, he was only given 7 minutes of extra time, which could have been 12.”
Starting Lineup:
Attendance:
