Tags:
Journalism of Courage
CALCUTTA, Nov 8: East Bengal turned giant killers today, taming the fancied Verdy Kawasaki of Japan by a solitary second-half goal in their home match of the Asia Cup Winners’ Cup second round at the Salt Lake Stadium here today.
The goal scored by Samuel Omollo in the 61st minute, came after East Bengal fans tasted disappointment in the 41st minute when Naushad Moosa muffed up a penalty kick. Had that been converted, the home team would have come very close to causing a major upset as, in spite of their victory today, East Bengal have lost on aggregate. The first leg score of 5-2 in favour of the Japanese side, proved to be decisive.
Although Bhaichung Bhutia and Tushar Rakshit shone in patches, the day belonged to Samuel Omollo. The Kenyan defender stood like the Rock of Gibraltar in the East Bengal defence, terminating a number of Verdy chances in the box. After an early mistake in clearance which could have resulted in a goal, Omollo almost single-handedly warded off the Verdy attack. Even Kalyan Chabey, perhaps the most under-rated goalkeeper in the country, was firm under the bar. He made the right decisions, whether it was to charge out or to punch the ball away. Any Verdy move which got past Omollo, met its end in Chaubey’s hand. The cross-piece too came to East Bengal’s rescue a couple of times.
The goal came through a corner-kick taken by Bhutia in the 61st minute. Omollo, who had come into the second-half with instructions to move up whenever necessary, went sliding to thump the ball home past Verdy captain and goalkeeper Shinkichiki Kikuchi. The corner was the result of a move that had its origin in a Moosa throw-in. East Bengal captain Dulal Biswas latched on to the ball and passed to an unmarked Bhutia on the right. The striker’s floater came tantalizingly close to the goal before it was headed out by Ko Ishikawa.
Earlier in the first half, a Somatai Saiza flag-kick was handled inside the box by Argelico Gucks. Moosa’s weak penalty stroke was easily saved by goalkeeper Kikuchi. A goal at that stage might have spurred East Bengal much earlier.
Bhutia, who could not be seen too much before, raised his game by just that bit to impart a brilliant lesson in dribble and ball control. A few rough tackles and a couple of yellow cards did not help matters for the Japanese side. East Bengal, meanwhile, continued with their search for the second goal. In the dying minutes. Bijen Singh, Bhutia and Saravanan weaved their way into the box, but the last mentioned took a weak try from close allowing the score-line to remain unchanged.
