East Bengal Will Face Chennaiyin FC In ISL: The footballers are playing fast football in the first half. From attack to defense, the opponent is fighting in all categories. But in the second half, they seem to be losing their way. East Bengal is losing the match by conceding consecutive goals.
This is East Bengal’s performance in ISL. Excluding the North East United match, the same picture was seen in the remaining three matches in the East Bengal game. Stephen Constantine wants to change that picture against Chennaiyin City FC on Friday. Not only in the first half, but in the whole match, the head coach of Lal-Hulud is emphasizing on playing well.
“It’s off to a good start,” Stephen said at a press conference on Thursday. Showed dominance in the first half in the derby. Created more chances, and ball possession was also in favor. But I could not use the opportunity. There Mohun Bagan scored in the first opportunity. They use the second chance. And we forgot ourselves and scored goals.” Stephen explained that the wound of defeat in the derby has not yet healed. He said, “Getting three points against Chennaiyin will increase the confidence of the team. Points were also deserved in the derby. But in football, there is no guarantee that you will always get what you deserve.”
Chennaiyin FC defeated Mohun Bagan in their first match in Kolkata. So Stephen gave the message to unite the 2-time ISL champions. Said, “Mohun Bagan is the best team in the league. Those who came to Kolkata and beat Mohun Bagan, they must be given importance.” Even today, Stephen said the old words of ‘new team’, “We are creating a team in a new way. It will take time. It is too much to expect us to win 7-8 games in a row. But we are improving every day. Hopefully, his evidence will be found against Chennaiyin.” Jordan O’Doherty, the hope of the red-yellow midfield, also claimed, “Losing the match due to some personal mistakes. But we are not playing badly as a team.”
East Bengal’s opponents, Chennaiyin, are not at ease. A draw with Bengaluru FC and a loss to FC Goa at home followed Mohun Bagan’s defeat. All in all, head coach Thomas Broderick is under pressure. Talking about their performance, he said, “In the last match, we conceded goals like fools. Small things like that make a difference. If you fix them, it will not be a problem to win.” On the other hand, Chennaiyin goalkeeper Devjit Mazumdar is set to shine against the old team. The former Red-Yellow star, however, is only focusing on Chennaiyin’s win. Chennaiyin will not get striker Kaome Karikari against East Bengal. But Anirudh is ready to play after recovering from injury.
East Bengal practiced at Yuva Bharati’s practice ground in the evening before taking on Chennaiyin. A cake was cut in the field on the occasion of Sarthak Golui’s birthday. On this day, the new assistant coach Sanmugam Venkatesh joined the team. East Bengal are unbeaten against Chennaiyin despite 2 years of dismal performances in the ISL. The match has been drawn every time in the four meetings. As a result, East Bengal is coming down with the added pressure of maintaining the record on Friday.
