East Bengal came from behind to beat Calcutta Customs 3-1 in their IFA Shield opener, overcoming an early Riki Gharami goal and difficult playing conditions.

East Bengal began their IFA Shield campaign with a win against Calcutta Customs. Calcutta Customs, who joined the IFA Shield, replacing Mohammedan Sporting Club, came to play on short notice and showed solid resilience in the first half. Even though they did not get many days for practice, they took the first lead, with Riki Gharami scoring his first goal against East Bengal in the 11th minute of the game.

Cyclone ‘Arnab’s’ effect cast questions on the match, though the match happened; the outfield was tremendously atrocious for the gameplay, East Bengal did not field any foreigners, and chose to go with only four regular senior team players. Rohit Kumar, Boris Singh, Narender, Rohit Danu and Souvik Chakrabarti, along with Jesin TK, who has just been promoted to the senior team.
Calcutta Customs passed on the challenge to own the first half, but East Bengal came back and produced a tough fight to win the match 3-1.

Calcutta Customs missed chances

Under the coaching of Biswajit Bhattacharya, Calcutta Customs produced great football in the first half. Riki Gharami remained their main highlight; other than scoring a goal, Riki Gharami continued to create chances. With the outfield being the main opponent created a challenge for both teams; Customs created opportunities but failed to convert them, even though they managed to break through the defence a few times.

In the post-match press conference, Customs head coach praised his boys, saying, “I am very satisfied with how the boys came on short notice and played like this.”

East Bengal looked off-rhythm

The red and yellow brigade’s senior team players and junior team players practised on a different pitch yesterday, and when they announced the matchday team, five of the senior team members were there, and it cost the rhythm; passes were not clean also, ball possession was out of the control. Jesin TK, who is recovering from an ankle injury, failed to convert many chances. Despite the misjudgments, East Bengal somehow managed to score 3 goals and secured the win.

In the 29th minute of the game, Rohit Kumar scored the equaliser with a header from Boris’s corner. They continued to create chances but couldn’t capitalise on them. In the 43rd minute, captain Souvik missed an opportunity to score. Just after the break, Jesin missed two chances in the 49th and 50th minutes. Finally, in the 52nd minute, Rohit Dhanu found the net with an assist from Akash Hemram, giving their team the lead. In the 74th minute, Jesin TK again missed a one-on-one opportunity. Mohammad Bilal, who came on as a substitute, provided an assist to Akash in the 85th minute of the game.

East Bengal will next face Punjab FC on 30th September.