Calcutta Football League 2018: Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal, Player Ratings
One of the biggest matches in Indian football Kolkata Derby - was played for the first time in the 2018-19 season at the world-famous Yuva Bharati Krirangan, or as it is popularly known nowadays, the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata today afternoon in the eighth round of fixtures of the Calcutta Football League Premier Division.
It was the first Calcutta Football League derby after the renovation of the Salt Lake Stadium after East Bengal's emphatic 4-0 win over Mohun Bagan back in 2015. The previous Kolkata derby had been in the I-League in which Mohun Bagan had emerged victorious with a 2-0 scoreline.
Today's match marked a top of the table clash in the Calcutta Football League Premier Division as the two rivals were locked at 19 points after seven fixtures so far in the league. The Mariners, Mohun Bagan were on the top of the table on account of higher goals scored in their favour (16) as compared to East Bengal (14).
Mohun Bagan came into the derby on the back of a win over the Aryan Club with a 2-0 margin whereas East Bengal fought off a stiff challenge against George Telegraph to win 2-1 courtesy a last-minute goal by Koushik Sarkar.
Mohun Bagan started strong in the match and took a 2-0 lead before the debuting Jhonny Acosta cut it down to 2-1 at the end of the first half. East Bengal had a better second half as they equalized through Laldanmawia Ralte.
Mohun Bagan A.C.
Shilton Paul (5/10) - The Mohun Bagan captain had a pretty quiet first half as the defence kept the attacks at bay for the most part. He conceded unlucky goals from rebounds after he had made good saves.
Arijit Bagui (7.5/10) - The right-back for Bagan was the most dangerous player on the pitch as he created the first two goals for Bagan with his crosses from the right flank.
Eze Kingsley (6.5/10) - The central defender was the wall for Bagan today as he blocked and tackled everything that came in his path. He won a lot of headers and was always a danger during setpieces.
Lalchawnkima (6.5/10) - Kima was an able partner to Kingsley in defence as he moved the ball well from the back and was strong in his challenges as well.
Abhishek Ambekar (/10) - The left-back had a productive afternoon on the pitch as he did well on both the defensive and attacking fronts with his runs on the left flank.
Shilton de Silva (5/10) - The former Mumbai FC midfielder had a solid outing in the central midfield for the Bagan side as he put in a lot of tackles to provide protection to the defence. At times, he even tested the East Bengal goal from long distance.
Britto PM (5.5/10) - The midfielder moved the ball well across the centre of the park and found the runs of attacking players ahead of him.
Pintu Mahata (6.5/10) - The youngster got the first goal of the match with a solid finish from inside the box and was a constant source of attacks with his movement on the right side of the attack.
Sourav Das (6/10) - The attacking midfielder made a lot of runs alongside the two strikers into the box and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions.
Asier Dipanda Dicka (6/10) - The dangerous striker was ever-present in the box at the end of crosses and kept the East Bengal defence on their toes throughout the ninety minutes.
Henry Kisseka (7/10) - The former Gokulam Kerala FC man came close to scoring early on in the match from a freekick but found the net in the first half to make it 2-0. He used his physicality well to make life tough for the East Bengal defenders.
Substitutes:
Mehtab Hossain (1/10) - The veteran midfielder came on before the hour mark to replace Shilton D'Silva in the midfield as Chakraborty added experience and grit to his lineup on the field. Unfortunately, he had a short stay as he got injured after a fall and was replaced.
Dareen Caldeira (3/10) - The former Bengaluru FC and ATK man was put on by Shankarlal Chakraborty to replace Mehtab Hossain in the midfield for the final half an hour of the match.
Azharuddin Mallick (2/10) - The young winger came on to replace Britto PM towards the end of the match as Bagan looked to find the match-winning goal.