Calcutta: East Bengal finished unbeaten in the Calcutta Football League's Premier Division when they ended their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Southern Samity, at the Barasat Stadium, on Thursday. It was the 15th occasion that the red-and-gold brigade managed to win the crown without losing a match. The last time they had achieved such a feat was back in 2000.
Having ensured the title after defeating Mohun Bagan on Sunday, East Bengal, who were without six of their regulars, didn't have much trouble in edging past Samity. Prohlad Roy put East Bengal ahead in the first half, but Samity restored parity through Vicky Meetei at the start of the second session. Mohammed Rafique then struck the winner in the 70th minute.
East Bengal thus finished the league with 28 points from 10 matches.
Do Dong Hyun, who scored a brace from stunning free-kicks against Bagan, was off-colour for most part of the 38 minutes he spent on the field. Struggling with his movement because of a groin injury, he had to be finally substituted by Ranty Martins.
The Samity players did enjoy more ball possession but failed to create any opening in the rival defence. East Bengal certainly looked more dangerous in attack but lost their way in an overcrowded penalty area. An off-colour Dong and a still struggling to get fit Ranty further complicated matters for them. But the way the youngsters stood up to the challenge was praiseworthy.
"My reserve-bench players have shown that they too are capable of delivering when it matters. They were highly motivated today and made up for the regular names that were missing from our ranks. The way they soaked in the pressure was extremely commendable," coach Biswajit Bhattacharjee said.
East Bengal depended largely on Rafique upfront and he proved that he was capable of showing his leadership skills when it mattered. With not much support from the midfield in the absence of Mehtab Hossain, Rafique repeatedly fell back into his own territory and worked hard in orchestrating the moves.
It was one such long ball from Rafique that fetched East Bengal the goal in the 37th minute. The entire Samity defence was left stranded thinking the unmarked Prohlad was in an off-side position. Prohald went ahead almost unchallenged and beat the advancing goalkeeper with a neat placement.
The Samity players were egged on by their own handful of supporters, but their overzealous attitude faded in the face of a vociferous East Bengal support base. The equaliser did provide them with something to cheer about. Praneet Lama's cross was brilliantly headed in by Vicky.
The Samity players came up with some entertaining moves following the goal, but an alert East Bengal defence foiled their hopes. It was left to Rafique to finally net the winner.
With Samity players dithering over a clearance inside the penalty box following a corner, Rafique pounced on the opportunity and scored with a right-footed volley.
Ranty, too, could have had his name in the scoresheet had he not squandered an opportunity in the closing stages with only the goalie to beat.
Samity's assistant coach Utpal Mukherjee, meanwhile, was given marching orders by the referee.
TEAMS
East Bengal: Abhra Mondal; Rahul Bheke, Babu Mondal, Bello Rasaq, Abhinava Bag; Prohlad Roy, Mohammed Rafique, Anthony Soren, Abinash Ruidas: Dong Hyun Do (Ranty Martins, 38 min), Jiten Murmu (Jagannath Sana, 76)
Southern Samity: Ashok Singh; Moidul Mallick, Anupam Sarkar, Richard (Waheed, 77); Biswajit Saha, Goutam Kujur, Vicky Meetei, Praneet Lama (Ayan Das Sharma, 67), Rengami, Taurus; Shankar Oraon (Shyam Mondal, 77)
Referee: Tanmoy Dhar
MoM: Mohammed Rafique
