I-League 2017: East Bengal vs Shillong Lajong, 5 Talking Points
East Bengal registered their first win of this year's I-League campaign after thrashing Shillong Lajong 5-1 at the Barasat Stadium in Kolkata. In the process, they inflicted Lajong's first defeat this season.
Laldanmawia Ralte scored a brace while Eduardo Ferreira, Mahmoud Al-Amnah and Katsumi Yusa also got on the scoresheet to send the East Bengal fans into delirium after a commanding performance.
Here's what stood out from the game:
#1 Under pressure East Bengal start with urgency
It has not been the best starts for Khalid Jamil after his high-profile move to East Bengal as their new coach. They were without a win in their first two games and had suffered a defeat in the Kolkata derby last week to Mohun Bagan.
Facing the current table toppers in Shillong Lajong, East Bengal showed the urgency of a side under pressure. They've been very patchy in the first two games and instead of opting to play it cautious, they took the game to Lajong from the get-go. And it worked for them - two goals inside 20 minutes gave them just the start they were looking for.
And they never really let up until the final 15 minutes to make sure that there was no way back. This was the sharpest we've seen East Bengal this year. Jamil came under fire from sections of supporters as they shouted "Go back" to him during one of the training sessions. This resounding win will no doubt ease a lot of the pressure and also give the fans much optimism as to what this team are capable of.