SC East Bengal beat I-League champions Gokulam in pre-season friendly

After a cagey initial few minutes, the red and gold brigade slowly started warming up to the contest and Balwant Singh headed home the lead in the 40th minute.

In first half added time, Angousana doubled the lead after being set up by Croatian midfielder Antonio Perosevic.

Glimpses from our 2-1 win over @GokulamKeralaFC today.#SCEBPreSeason #JoyEastBengal #WeAreSCEB 🔴🟡 pic.twitter.com/3WHY06mdvg

— SC East Bengal (@sc_eastbengal) October 20, 2021

SC East Bengal almost had a third goal when Semboi Haokip beat the Gokulam keeper to send the ball goalwards but a timely clearance saved the blushes for the Malabarians.

Gokulam pressed hard in the last ten minutes but SC East Bengal backline held firm, with developmental player Goutam Singh and Joyner Lourenco getting the job done.

Chima Chukwu reacts to our 2-1 victory in the third friendly against @GokulamKeralaFC . #SCEBGKFC #SCEBPreSeason 🔴🟡 pic.twitter.com/4o6May1vJg

— SC East Bengal (@sc_eastbengal) October 20, 2021

The Kolkata side have now secured three wins from as many friendlies.

Coached by former Real Madrid manager Jose Manuel ‘Manolo’ Diaz, SC East Bengal beat Vasco SC and Salgaocar FC 3-1 and 2-0 respectively.

Antonio Perosevic had a brilliant first half. The Croatian forward found space more often than not on the left inside channel and kept feeding the likes of Balwant and Naorem Mahesh. He was instrumental in the second goal.

Industry 💯.

SCEB GKFC 2-0#SCEBGKFC pic.twitter.com/0bCwacYw7k

— SC East Bengal (@sc_eastbengal) October 20, 2021

Diaz gave a start to goalkeeper Suvam Sen with the ever-dependable Tomislav Mrcela and Adil Khan playing as centre-backs.
Hira Mondal and Raju Gaikwad were the two full backs as Sourav Das and Angousana pulled the strings in midfield.

Naorem Mahesh and Bikash Jairu were deployed as wide midfielders in a 4-4-2 system which saw Antonio Perosevic and Balwant play up front.

The Indian Super League begins on November 19 at Margao. All the matches will be played in Goa.