With derby hattrick, Nassiri goes to where his famous father couldn’t

Ball in hand, hair ruffled, Kiyan Nassiri held the pose. In the storied history of the Kolkata derby that is nearly 100 years old, he had just made a place for himself going to where his father Jamshed couldn’t in a successful career for East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting.

You can’t even call Nassiri’s career fledgling because this is his first season in the Indian Super League (ISL) and in 11 games ATK Mohun Bagan have played, Nassiri has featured for 31 minutes.

Most of them came on Saturday when Nassiri, 21, came off the bench to score a hattrick and help ATK Mohun Bagan escape to a 3-1 victory against SC East Bengal, the result taking the maroon-and-green back into the top four. This is the first hattrick in an ISL Kolkata derby and it comes over 13 years after Edeh Chidi scored one for Mohun Bagan in the I-League. The only other hattrick after Independence in domestic football’s most followed match was by Bhaichung Bhutia when East Bengal stunned Mohun Bagan 4-1 in a Federation Cup semi-final, a game that was watched by a reported crowd of 1.31 lakh at Salt Lake stadium.

Nassiri was six years from being born then. On Saturday, with ATK Mohun Bagan suddenly finding themselves behind after poor defending from a set-piece had Darren Sidoel scoring in the 56th minute, Nassiri was brought on. When coach Juan Ferrando sacrificed defensive midfielder Deepak Tangri and got Nassiri, the match was 61 minutes old. Three minutes later, Nassiri struck.

He had followed Prabir Das’s delivery from the right but couldn’t get a touch as it sailed across goal. As Liston Colaco retrieved, Nassiri fell back and was in the right place at the right time when SC East Bengal couldn’t clear Colaco’s hopeful delivery. Nassiri latched on to the ball and opening his shoulders drove the shot into the far corner.

That is how the match looked set to end, an apt result for SC East Bengal’s braveheart defending against a team which had a wealth of attacking flair on the pitch despite Roy Krishna not being on it. But when David Williams, who had hoofed a penalty into the Goa night, met a Colaco delivery with a diving header which thudded into the framework, Nassiri was again at the right place and showed excellent technique to fire a half-volley into goal. 93rd minute, ATK Mohun Bagan 2, SC East Bengal 1 and arms spread, screaming with joy, Nassiri ran in celebration, a routine he completed with a somersault.

Less than a minute later, Manvir Singh led a break and as he was dispossessed, the ball fell to where Nassiri had run in. With a left-foot volley, the hattrick was complete and it was time for the hugs.

From his time at St James’ school in Kolkata, Nassiri had caught the eye as a goalscorer in inter-school competitions. Mohun Bagan signed him on a five-year contract and promoted him from the youth team to Kibu Vicuna’s side which won the 2019-20 I-League. Nassiri had played all of 16 minutes in that campaign, said Debasish Dutta, one of the directors at ATK Mohun Bagan who was the finance secretary at Mohun Bagan. Next season, Nassiri remained with the club but as it merged with ATK, found himself out of the ISL roster. That changed this term and from being brought on to run down the clock, Nassiri became the first player to score a hattrick in a Kolkata derby in ISL.

“When the game was in a very difficult moment, we decided to change the system, use Kiyan like a No 9. When a young player has an amazing game, I am very happy,” said Ferrando.

Scoring goals runs in that family. Known for aerial prowess, the handsome Iranian Jamshed Nassiri had, along with compatriot Majid Bishkar, shored up an East Bengal severely depleted by a string of regulars leaving in 1980. It was the beginning of a long career that saw him score over 100 goals but never three in a row in a Kolkata derby.

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