I-League: A delightful clash for East Bengal, Minerva FC fans

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, February 13

East Bengal handed Minerva Punjab FC their first defeat (1-0) at home this season to stay alive in the I-League title race. Both the teams got good support from their loyal fans who rooted for their side with full enthusiasm.

Hosts Minerva Punjab followers had come armed with vuvuzelas and danced to the beat of dhol. Both the teams were locked in a 0-0 battle in the first half and the spectators tried their best to egg their team and take the lead.

The second half belonged to the Kolkata giants who too had a sizeable crowd to back their team in the city. Some of the die-hard supporters of the club had come all the way from West Bengal and abroad to support the Red & Gold squad in their crucial match. 

One such group of friends, who has travelled with the team for the entire season, had reached Chandigarh a day before the match. "It was a tough match. Both the sides had played out a 2-2 draw in their previous encounter. But today a timely goal by Lobo helped us get crucial three points," said Pushpal Nag, an employee with the Kolkata Police. He was accompanied by Ayan Guha, Biplav Das, Asim Roy, Arindam Majumder and Sanju.

Another East Bengal supporter, Shubhojit Dasgupta, had flown in from London to support his team. "I was in India so I planned to watch the match here. I came to know that the airport is shut due to some maintenance work here, so I came by road," said Dasgupta, who had the company of Subhajyoti Mazumdar, Pritam Roy and Trisham Das. 

"I hope our team wins the next few games to gain the top spot. The last 20 minutes of the match today were breathtaking. We were all praying for the team," said Pritam Roy.

A big number of people in the crowd were from the Bengali community living in the Tricity. They had come to support their favourite team. "It was for the first time that East Bengal was playing here. How could we miss this opportunity? Had it been Salt Lake Stadium or the Barasat Stadium in Kolkata we would have had to wait for hours just to have a look at the stars," said Pia Burman.

Pitch a concern

Like the previous match, the rough patches on the field remained a concern for both the teams in this match also. Player of the match Mahmoud Amnah said that professional players do face such problems. "We are professional players. Sometimes we play on good grounds and at other times we have to play on the bad ones. Our focus is only on getting the desired result and winning three points." 

Minerva Punjab FC will now host Gokulam Kerala FC on February 20 here. "We have enough time to settle things down now. I am sure the players will adapt to this pitch and we will win all the remaining games here," said Wangkhem Khogen Singh, Minerva Punjab coach.