I-League 2018/19: 3 reasons why East Bengal won against Indian Arrows
Quess East Bengal football club narrowly edged past a spirited Indian Arrows side by a 1-0 margin to leapfrog Mohun Bagan and NEROCA FC and move up to the fourth spot in the I-League standings with 22 points from 12 matches. Spanish winger Jaime Santos Colado converted in the 48th minute after Jobby Justin produced an assist inside the box, the former’s shot managed to get past the Arrows’ defender who made a sliding tackle to shut him down.
With the ‘Kolkata Derby’ around the corner, East Bengal will be more than happy to grab all the three points on offer before the build-up to the crucial tie. Although it is hard to say whether the Kolkata giants can still get a shot at the championship, this win takes them to a very comfortable position in the league.
Let us have a look at the 3 reasons why East Bengal FC won against Indian Arrows.
#3 Indian Arrows' lack of intent in the final third
The Indian colts played on par with East Bengal in the first half, which was laudable, but they lost the grip in the second half. Bringing on Rahim Ali in the latter stages may have increased the pace a bit but it did not save the day for Floyd Pinto’s boys.
The coach although feels that the boys played well to keep their much-fancied opponents “on their toes” for the entire 90 minutes. “Nothing went wrong in the second half. Boys played their hearts out. When you make mistakes you will be punished. We were playing against a quality side and we kept them on their toes for 90 minutes. Great achievement for the team,” said Pinto following the match.
One point to be noted is that the players do not have an added pressure on their shoulders since they are a development side and won’t get relegated at the end of the season. Coach Floyd Pinto was pleased overall with the experience playing against such a big team. Regarding the matter, he said, “Great experience for us in today's game. We are a development side. This is a good experience for the team. The players, of course, are disappointed but I am happy with their overall game.”