Al Amna played the Kolkata Derby despite having an infected eye
What's the story?
Mahmoud Al Amna helped his side East Bengal to come back from 2 goals down to get an important point in the first Kolkata Derby of the 2018-19 season, despite playing with an infected eye.
In case you didn't know..
The defending champions East Bengal went into the Kolkata Derby level on points with their arch-rivals Mohun Bagan knowing that a victory for their side would increase their chances of winning the Calcutta Football League for the ninth time in a row, while a loss would give the Mariners a golden opportunity to win the league for the first time since 2009.
The heart of the matter
Mohun Bagan went 2 goals up in the first half an hour in a packed Salt Lake Stadium, with derby debutant Pintu Mahata and Henry Kisekka scoring one goal each. East Bengal's new signing Johny Acosta who was part of the Costa Rican side that played in the World Cup scored his first goal for the club in the dying seconds of the first half.
Lalrindika Ralte scored the equaliser to bag an important point for the Red and Golden brigade.
Al Amna played a brilliant match which included some key passes for him and a couple of chances at goal which he couldn't convert. He played the whole 90 minutes despite the medical recommendation of a rest.
After the match ended, Mahmoud Al Amna posted the following message on Facebook with a photo of his infected eye. He wrote "To all fans accept my apologize for didn't won the match we tried all our best to win yesterday. I played this game but I were not well I have infection in my eye 4 days ago can't see well doctor said must take rest but I played this game because know this very important game to help my team n thanx for all fans for support us to come back to game."
What's next?
Both the city rivals are on equal points, which has set up an interesting climax for this season of the Calcutta Football League.