Calcutta: East Bengal tested their bench strength against Balestier Khalsa FC of Singapore in their AFC Cup group F match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday, and the players did not disappoint coach Eelco Schattorie.
With a 3-0 victory that kept their hopes of making it to the next round alive, the hosts showed easy dominance over a team to whom they had lost 1-2 in their away match on March 17.
Baldeep Singh, playing only his second match in the red-and-gold colours this season, drew first blood in the 22nd minute, and earned the Most Valuable Player of the match award.
With the hosts squandering a number of chances, East Bengal had to wait till the 70th minute, when a self-goal by a Balestier Khalsa defender added to their tally. Nurullah Hussein, trying to clear a minus from Baldeep inside the box, guided the ball in past goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam.
The third goal was a fluent one from Ranty Martins in the 74th minute. Ranty replaced Baljit Sahni in the 67th minute. The coach did not start with regulars Ranty and Dudu Omagbemi, in an effort to try out the players who normally warm the bench.
East Bengal dominated the match without much effort really and it was difficult to understand how they had lost to this team in their away match.
With four points from four matches, the city giants are now third in the four-team group, and have one home match against table toppers Johor Darul Tazim (Malaysia, 9 points) and an away tie against second-placed Kitchee (Hong Kong, 7 points) left to play.
Two teams from each group will advance to the round of 16. East Bengal had lost to the Malaysian outfit 1-4, drawn with Kitchee 1-1 at home and lost to Balestier Khalsa 1-2 in their earlier matches. The two top teams have their outings against bottom-placed Balestier Khalsa also left and that just makes East Bengal's chances a little tough.
Eelco did not sound too optimistic of his team's chances of making it to the knock-out stages, though he agreed that there was still a slim possibility, but for that they need to win both their matches and hope that Kitchee stumble.
As he had said on Monday, Eelco fielded his reserves. Arnab Mondal was the only player who had turned out against Pune FC in their last I-League match. On Tuesday, Baldeep and Baljit Sahni were the two strikers.
The first half saw East Bengal squander opportunities, but Baldeep's goal came from a gem of a header, following a corner from Shylo Malsawmtlanga.
East Bengal made it 2-0 in the 70th minute with Balestier defender, Nurullah making a cardinal mistake.
Malsawmtlanga set Ranty up with a delightful pass and the experienced striker, seeing an advancing Baldeep, essayed it to him inside the box. Baldeep's minus was not even headed towards the goal and Nurullah, perhaps losing his nerve, guided the ball in, past a stunned goalkeeper,
The third goal saw Baldeep playing it to Ranty, who was left unguarded on the left flank, and the Nigerian almost strolled towards the goal and a powerful shot past the goalkeeper saw the ball nestle at the back of the net.
TEAMS
East Bengal: Luis Barreto, Abhishek Das, Arnab Mondal (Milan Susak, 40th), Raju Gaikwad, Saumik Dey, S Malsawmtluanga, Sukhwinder Singh, Subodh Kumar, Mohammed Rafique (Dudu Omagbemi, 62), Baljit Sahni (Ranty Martins, 67), Baldeep Singh.
Balestier Khalsa: Zaiful Nizam Abdullah, Emir Lotinac, Igor Cerina, Muhammad Nurullah, Ho Wai Loon, Ridhwan Jamil, Jonathan Xu Weihua (Noor Akid, 50), Muhammad Fadhil (Afiq Tan, 64), Ahmad Syahir, Hanafi (Ignatius Heng, 50), Miroslav Kristic.
Referee: Kim Daeyong (Korea)
Most Valuable Player: Baldeep Singh
