He came, he saw and conquered the hearts of the 45,000 strong Mohun Bagan supporters who were witness to a ‘historic’ 1-0 upset over arch-rivals East Bengal at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan today. Gley Yao Rodrigue, Mohun Bagan’s new recruit from the little-known West-African country of Togo, set the stands afire with a debut performance that had his coach fumbling for words of appreciation. The 21-year-old striker with striking blue boots needed just 17 minutes to make his mark. A left-footed shot off a rebound into the far corner left East Bengal custodian Naseem Akhtar with no chance and soon chants of ‘Yao, Yao’ rent the air. He mesmerised the East Bengal defence with his nimble footwork. He could have made it an even more memorable outing had he managed to convert two more chances that came his way, but he certainly wasn’t complaining.
