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East Bengal FC returned to winning ways after almost four months with a 4-0 win against Bashundhara Kings in the AFC Challenge League.
The last time East Bengal had won a game was back in July. (Image: X)
East Bengal FC finally won a game of football after almost four months across three tournaments when they thrashed Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings 4-0 in their second AFC Challenge League Group A fixture at the Changlimithang Stadium on Tuesday evening. Goals from Dimitrios Diamantakos (1′), Souvik Chakrabarti (20′), Nandhakumar Sekar (26′), and Anwar Ali (33′) propelled them to their first win since July this year.
While Diamantakos netted the fastest goal by an East Bengal player in AFC competitions, Souvik and Anwar netted their maiden goals for the Red & Gold brigade.
The last time East Bengal had won a game was back in July, against Inter Kashi in the group stage of the Durand Cup. They had since lost an away knockout game in the Durand Cup to Shillong Lajong and endured AFC Champions League Two Preliminary Stage defear to Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr besides losing all their matches in the Indian Super League so far.
East Bengal’s AFC Challenge League campaign too did not start on a victorious note as they were held to a 2-2 draw by hosts Paro FC.
“The victory is more important than my personal milestone. We want to improve together as a unit and win more matches,” said Souvik Chakrabarti.
Anwar Ali was happy to have opened his account for the club.
“I am happy to have scored my first goal for East Bengal. I was waiting for the moment. It’s important to score in such big tournaments because you are representing your nation. I want to help my team win more matches,” he said.
Diamantakos is already focused on East Bengal’s last group match.
“All the players showed great character on the pitch. The last group match will be a sort of final for us. We need to win on Friday to qualify for the knockouts,” Diamantakos said after his lightning-fast goal.
Sekar revealed the team was ‘desperate’ for a win.
“It was an important game for us, as we were desperate to return to winning ways. Scoring for this club always feels special. Coach Oscar has helped us regain our confidence. We are grateful to the traveling fans for supporting us in Bhutan. Let’s win together on Friday,” he said.
East Bengal’s next match against Nejmeh SC at the same venue on Friday therefore becomes the top-of-the-group decider. A win against the Lebanese side will take East Bengal through to the quarterfinals of the inaugural Challenge League.