Bhaichung Bhutia after scoring East Bengal’s first goal at Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: The rub of the green, as East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick keeps saying, is as significant as the talent and desire to win in a team’s push for the top-podium finish.

Bhowmick’s cry for luck should pause for a while now after Thursday’s National Football League (NFL) match against Haywards Sporting Club of Goa at Salt Lake Stadium.

Seen from a common man’s perspective, the 2-0 triumph over the debutants — thanks to strikes from Bhaichung Bhutia and Cristiano Junior (his fifth in as many matches) — will never mirror the true picture of how the visitors toyed with the pride of the champions in the first half.

But in the end, it is the result that matters and no wonder, East Bengal returned smiling after a nerve-wracking battle. It was also an ideal result in Bhowmick’s immediate scheme of things. Going by his recurring sentiments, win in the next couple of matches — against Indian Bank in Chennai and Mohammedan Sporting at home — will land his team in the 20-point zone before the Derby clash with Mohun Bagan.

If Thursday’s victory left in its trail promise for that accomplishment, the fast-receding strength in the team’s central midfield and defence through injuries may put a wet blanket on the coach’s thought-process.

Both Bhutia and Debjit Ghosh will miss the Indian Bank tie on Monday, because of double booking, while the return of the injured Douglas da Silva, Suley Musah, Sasthi Duley and Chandan Das to action is still shrouded in uncertainty. Fortunately, Mahesh Gawli, who had to leave the field with a shoulder injury midway into the first half on Thursday, is available.

East Bengal appeared driven by an attacking intention — with Bhutia and Junior upfront, and Mike Okoro and K. Kulothungan supporting from a little deep. But, apart from Bhutia’s 36th-minute goal — it was East Bengal’s first goalmouth move, incidentally — the rest of the opening half totally belonged to Haywards Sporting.

In the teeth of persistently pressing football from the Goan outfit, the defending champions had a real tough time to digest the pressure. Nigerian forward Francis Andrade and the Maidan veteran Abdulateef Seriki were meeting crosses from wings with arrogance while Luis Aniweta in defence with Bibiano Fernandes and Kamal Suliman in midfield sowing the seeds of creative movements with ease and elegance.

In the 20th minute, goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee brilliantly blocked Seriki’s attempt from close. The latter then came in the way of Suliman’s shot with the East Bengal goalkeeper completely at their mercy.

In between, Bhutia scored. Okoro, who was roving as if with a purpose of proving a lot of points after being disciplined by the club officials, sent a high centre from right. Bhutia, lurking between Aniweta and Vincent Pires, however, was allowed to hold the ball and remained unchallenged till his third touch bulged into the net.

The complexion of the game then took a complete turnaround with the arrival of Shylo Malsawmtluanga at the expense of Bhutia in the 63rd minute. The Mizoram lad’s quick turns, sudden burst of speed and craving for ball packed a punch to the home team attack as the Goans started looking frustrated.

Teams

East Bengal: Sangram Mukherjee; Sur Kumar Singh, Mahesh Gawli (Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, 25), M. Suresh, Dipak Mondal, Subhas Chakraborty, Debjit Ghosh, K. Kulothungan (Tushar Rakshit, 81), Mike Okoro, Bhaichung Bhutia (Shylo Malsawmtluanga, 63), Cristiano Junior.

Haywards Sporting: Luis Barreto; Agnelo D’Costa, Akshay Das, Luis Aniweta, Vincent Pires; Jerose Oliviera (Avinash Thapa, 54), Kamal Suliman, Bibiano Fernandes, Francis Andrade; Joseph Perreira (James Singh, 64), Abdulateef Seriki.

Referee: Walter Perreira (WIFA).