Bijen Singh

Calcutta: East Bengal shone bright in Dhaka’s Bangabandhu Stadium on Wednesday, subduing Muktijoddha Sansad 1-0 thanks to Bijen Singh’s goal. But it was too little too late as the maiden win turned out to be an inconsequential one in the red-and-gold brigade’s AFC Cup campaign.

The bid for moving into the tournament’s next round may be over, but the verdict ? East Bengal could have won the match by a much bigger margin had the players not missed a number of sitters ? is certainly a welcome relief for Subhas Bhowmick’s boys.

On match-eve, the East Bengal coach had insisted that pride would be at stake when his team would take on the Bangladesh outfit. He, incidentally, started the campaign with a home draw against the same rivals ? a result the veteran coach even went to describe as “a fluke”.

With their pride bruised at home, East Bengal had a chance to settle scores with the same opponents. Against the odds of playing away, Bhowmick’s wards, thus, were never short on motivation.

The red-and-golds took off the garb of caution soon after the match started. Muktijoddha captain and goalkeeper Aminul Haq saved his team at least three times in the first half. Besides, Subhas Chakraborty’s shot struck the horizontal while Ernest Jeremiah’s left-footed attempt went inches away from the first post.

After the breather, Bhowmick made a few substitutions in a move to pack further punch. Chandan Das replaced Subhas in the 56th while 12 minutes later, Bijen came in place of Shylo Malsawmtluanga.

Within seven minutes of his arrival, Bijen scored, his finish culminating a brilliant move from the middle. Jeremiah received a pass from the left and quickly sent a forward through for Bijen. The East Bengal striker followed the ball nicely and coolly sent it over the onrushing Haq.

Bijen eventually left the field three minutes from time, much to the applause of teammates, giving way to Nitin Pradhan.

“It was a thrilling win. We didn’t have the full team. Bhaichung Bhutia and Alvito (D’Cunha) were out. Even Debjit (Ghosh) could not play due to a muscle pull. In spite of all these impediments, the boys played marvellously,” East Bengal manager Swapan Ball said from Dhaka.

Despite the win, East Bengal are still at the bottom of four-team group A with four points from five matches. Muktijoddha, with identical points, are ahead of them, thanks to a better goal difference.

Al Faisaly of Jordan (with 10 points from four matches) are set to move into the next round as the lone team from the group.