Self-goal helps ATKMB win season’s first Kolkata derby

For over two years, Kolkata had waited for a Sunday like this. So it fit that mini trucks teeming with supporters, shirts, loud hailers and flags of both teams would make their way to the Salt Lake stadium and unfurl tifos before kick-off in this group B match of the 131st Durand Cup between ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) and East Bengal.

This early in the season, both teams lacked sharpness resulting in a derby that was edgy and undercooked. One that was decided by a self-goal from Sumeet Passi that gave ATKMB their first win of the competition and left East Bengal searching for theirs after both teams have played three games.

ATKMB, Mumbai City FC and Rajasthan United FC now have four points; East Bengal stay on two. Mumbai City and Rajasthan United FC have played a game less than Kolkata’s archrivals meaning that all teams in the group that also has Indian Navy stay alive.

In a little over three weeks, Stephen Constantine has been able to drill the medium block well into East Bengal. Against an ATKMB superior in terms of preparation and panache, it worked well which made Passi’s self-goal the kind of sucker punch that ruins half-time team talk.

Liston Colaco’s corner-kick was low and the ball bounced awkwardly in front of East Bengal striker Eliandro dos Santos defending the near post. Do Santos couldn’t clear and was in the way of goalie Kamaljit Singh. The ball bounced past Singh and ricocheted off Passi into the goal in the first derby in Kolkata after January 2020.

So much has changed since; in the world and at East Bengal who switched coaches and investors and had two seasons of underwhelming performance in the Indian Super League (ISL). Determined to change things, they got an investor early this term and began training at a time when in 2020 and 2021 they were desperately seeking players. The determination to change things was also evident in East Bengal emerging first after half-time to rousing cheers from one half of an amphitheatre split equally between 60,000-odd supporters.

Three changes at half-time were further proof that East Bengal were ready for a scrap. Aniket Jadhav, one of the changes, volleyed narrowly wide before Passi failed to make amends with a free header after Cleiton Silva, another change at half-time, found him unmarked.

ATKMB too had chances to put the game to bed but Ashique Kuruniyan and Florentin Pogba failed to beat Singh and Kauko and Kiyan Nassiri couldn’t keep efforts on target. The second half had begun brightly unlike the first where ATKMB had more of the ball but couldn’t do much with it. East Bengal prevented ATKMB from using the width of the park. The danger Kuruniyan and Ashish Rai could have posed with their speed was snuffed out by full backs Charalambos Kyriacou, the Cypriot impressing with his work ethic and anticipation, and Jerry Lalrinzuala who were helped by wide midfielders Pritam Soraisam and Wahengbam Angousana.

Anchored by the impressive Ivan Gonzalez, the backline defied ATKMB’s star-studded frontline. East Bengal may not have imposed themselves in the middle but ensured that ATKMB’s creative players Liston Colaco, Hugo Boumous and Joni Kauko were denied space and time to unfurl their considerable array of tricks. And once Jadhav came on, he and Kyriacou launched a few sorties on the right.

It didn’t fetch the equaliser but against a team more settled, which has qualified for the AFC Cup inter-zonal semi-finals and has a string of India regulars, East Bengal showed they would not be trifled with this season.

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