CFL 2019: Al Amna shine but East Bengal trounce Southern Samity 2-1

East Bengal defeated Southern Samity 2-1 in a Calcutta Football League (CFL) clash at their own backyard on Thursday afternoon. 

Goals in each half from Bidyasagar Singh (33′) and Jaime Santos (62′) were enough for the hosts to seal the three points and Arjun Tudu’s (81′) goal n the final quarter of the match proved too little too less. 

Coach Alejandro Menendez made wholesale changes to the side that faced Mohun Bagan in the Kolkata derby last Sunday. He made eight alterations to the starting XI with only Lalthuammawia Ralte, Lalrindika Ralte, and Pintu Mahata retaining their places.  Jaime Santos and Bidyasagar Singh were reinstated to the team while Borja Fernandez made his (CFL) debut in today’s match. 

It was a lively start from Southern Samity as they were piling pressure on East Bengal’s defence right from the first whistle. Mahmoud Al Amna was dictating proceedings in his old stomping ground and East Bengal were finding it difficult to play their natural game. 

But as the match progressed the hosts started to gain ascendency. Santos and Bidyasagar were combining well in the attacking third and were posing serious threats to Southern Samity’s defence. In the 23rd minute, East Bengal could have drawn first blood when Borja headed Lalrindika’s corner towards goal but his attempt sailed inches over the crossbar. 

In the 29th minute, Ralte tried his luck from distance and keeper Ishan Debnath almost made a mess while trying to keep out the shot. The rebound fell for Bidyasagar but the striker could not keep the shot on target even with the entire goal at his mercy. 

But the Red and Golds did not have to wait much longer for the opener as Bidyasagar found the net in the 33rd from a flag-kick floated in by Ralte. Santos played a vital role in the goal as the Spaniard headed it backward towards Bidyasagr who was left unmarked at the far post and the young striker made no mistake to head in the ball from handshaking distance of goal. 

East Bengal continued their domination in the second half and in the 62nd minute, they scored the insurance goal through Santos. It was another inch-perfect corner delivered by Ralte which was headed home by Santos who jumped under no pressure as Southern Samity’s defence were caught napping once again during the set-piece. 

In the 81st minute, Southern Samity pulled one back through substitute Arjun Tudu as the left-winger dribbled past his marker and fired a powerful shot at goal beating Lalthuammawia under the sticks. The goal infused a vigour amongst Southern Samity players as they started raiding East Bengal’s defence in search of an equaliser. But Borja Gomez and co. showed composure and resillience to weather the storm and keep the scoreline unchanged at 2-1. 

After bagging the three points against Southern, East Bengal move to the third spot with 10 points from five matches.