Calcutta: Do Dong Hyan was the cynosure after East Bengal's 1-0 victory over Tollygunge Agragami, on Saturday.

Playing his first match for East Bengal, Dong hogged the limelight with an impressive performance. "It's a great feeling winning the Man of the Match award in my first match. I badly wanted to score a goal on debut. It didn't happen but I played a role in the goal," Dong said after the match.

Dong revelled once he was asked to play wide on the flanks, but the South Korean said he was equally comfortable playing as a striker. "I enjoyed both my roles. May be today I was more successful on the flanks, but I can play as a striker also," he added.

Dong also hailed the crowd who came in droves. "It was great playing in front of such a crowd. The weather, the ground and the crowd. Altogether it was an amazing experience for me," he said.

East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharya also heaped praise on Dong. "It was his first match, but he showed what he is capable of. I am expecting much more from this man," he said.

Bhattacharya, however, conceded his team did make mistakes. "It was our first match. I knew there would be some mistakes... The main thing is to identify the mistakes and make an effort to rectify those. We will be doing that now."

Bhattacharya also lauded the supporters. "Oh it was unexpected. I never thought that so many supporters would be there to watch the first match. That's the fun of playing at home. In the second half, because of the spectators' constant cheering, we managed to raise our game," he said.

Asked how much he would give to the team on a scale of 10, Bhattacharya said "On a scale of 10, my team will get 6."

Goal-scorer Harmanjyot Singh Khabra dedicated the goal to the teammates. "This is for them. It was a tough match and I am happy that we managed to log full points," he said.