The squad left for Goa for their I League opener against Sporting Clube de Goa on 10th January. From Goa, the team will travel to Mumbai to play their second away match against Mumbai FC on 17th January.
20 member squad for the two away games:
Goalkeepers: T.P. Rehnesh, Luis Barreto
Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Samad Ali Mallick, Arnab Mondal, Bello Rasaq, Deepak Mondal, Robert Lalthlamuana
Good start to the I-League For East Bengal, but let us not get elated over it. The entire team played poorly in the first half. They came back well and played very well in the second half, thanks to Bishuda's vocal tonic. Incidentally, East Bengal have almost made a habit of conceding goals in the first half this season and coming back strongly and firing in goals in the second half (thinking about the CFL matches). Arnab and particularly Bello messed it up on a number of occasions, though got to concede that they did make some crucial blocks/saves. Samad is one of the finds of the season IMO. Sehnaj had a very decent first game, and Jairu's work-rate is impressive. Very good substitutions by the coach in replacing Mama and Khabra with Rafique and Sabeeth. Dong, who had been a flop till then, slotted in perfectly in the withdrawal role and began to play his natural game from that point. Ranti showed that his goal-poaching instincts are still all right, but he has become very slow, takes ages to turn and does not deliver if he is not supplemented by another good striker. Even if EB signs Mendy, another good striker, whether foreign or Indian, definitely needs to signed by the club. BTW, any idea whether the East Bengal-Mumbai FC match would be shown live on Ten Action?
The drama over the signing of East Bengal's fourth foreigner (Bernard Mendy's signing is not officially confirmed) and the signing of Mohun Bagan's Sony Norde (supposedly confirmed) could give Ekta Kapoor's soaps a run for their money! On a serious note, even if EB sign Mendy, they need a good positive striker, foreigner or otherwise. With Jeje already signed by Bagan and now Haokip snapped up by Salgaocar, there is hardly any Indian striker of note. After signing Mendy, EB will certainly not have the finances to sign a foreign striker. This will remain an area of concern in the I-League.
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The squad left for Goa for their I League opener against Sporting Clube de Goa on 10th January. From Goa, the team will travel to Mumbai to play their second away match against Mumbai FC on 17th January.
20 member squad for the two away games:
Goalkeepers: T.P. Rehnesh, Luis Barreto
Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Samad Ali Mallick, Arnab Mondal, Bello Rasaq, Deepak Mondal, Robert Lalthlamuana
Midfielders: Harmanjyot Singh Khabra, Mehtab Hossain, Sanju Pradhan, Bikash Jairu, Shylo Malswamtluanga, Sehnaj Singh, Prohlad Roy, Joaquim Abranches, Mohammed Rafique
Strikers: Ranti Martins, Dong Hyun Do, CS Sabeeth
BTW, any idea whether the East Bengal-Mumbai FC match would be shown live on Ten Action?
Seems that Mendy is indeed signing for East Bengal. However, Lukeman was also confirmed by Goal.com and the the East Bengal official website.