SC East Bengal are slowly turning into a team capable of challenging for the Indian Super League title. After their winless run at the start of the tournament, SC East Bengal are now on a 5 match unbeaten run.
The fate of the club has changed after the signing of Bright Enobakhare. The 22-year-old Nigerian has been the star of the show and probably scored the goal of the season in their match against FC Goa.
The other Indian signings in the January transfer window has also proved effective. Raju Gaikwad and Ankit have taken into the SCEB team like a duck to water.
The likes of Maghoma, Fox, Nevile, Debjit, Narayan has also stepped up their game and now understands what their teammates want and the philosophy of the team.
SC East Bengal’s manager Robbie Fowler was suspended so assistant coach Tony Grant was in the dugout for the match against Bengaluru FC. SCEB won by a solitary goal from Steinmann.
Tony Grant said after the match: “We had only two weeks pre-season and we had a whole bunch of players whom no one knew. So, it was common sense that it was going to take time. If anyone thought, it’s going to be all done in a week or two, they would be crazy. The players finally understand the type of play we want and, we have brought a couple of new players in. Ankit (Mukherjee) and Raju (Gaikwad) have done really well. The young boys, Harman(preet Singh) and (Haobam) Tomba (Singh), have also done very well. It’s a work in progress.”
Grant further added: “Bengaluru FC is a good team. They are one of the biggest teams in the league. We are the new club in the ISL. It’s very early days. But, we have shown everyone that we are fighters. Our boys showed we can play with the ball in the first half and we can defend too. We know that East Bengal like fighters. We have got a manager who is a fighter. We have coaches who are fighters. It is a good recipe for the future. The boys have shown how resilient they are and how much we can fight. We are scared of no one and will fight with everyone.”
The Englishman concluded: “East Bengal has never been in the ISL before. This jump is huge. It’s like taking a Conference team in the UK and taking them to the Premier League. So, you have to get there by levels. And, it takes time. So, we are not galvanized, we are work in progress,”
Hopefully, SC East Bengal will continue their upward climb in the table and make it to the playoffs in their very first ISL season.
