KOLKATA: The season’s first high voltage Kolkata derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium officially known as Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) tomorrow in the eighth round fixture of the Calcutta Football
League (CFL) Premier Division ‘A’ 2018.
Both the Kolkata Giants this season, have started their campaign in fine fashion. They have played the best brand of football so far, and are still undefeated in the league. Both the teams have played seven matches each, with the Red and Golds having won three matches by a margin of 3-0.
On the other side, the Maroon and Greens thrashed West Bengal Police by the highest margin of 5-0 which is also the highest in the league.
Before their last game, The Red and Golds were leading the league table with both maximum points and goal difference. But after the match against George Telegraph, they conceded their first ever goal in this season of the league and managed to score two goals.
They are now second in the league table, though points earned by both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are same (19). Both teams also share an equal goal difference.
The battle between Subhash Bhowmick and his former understudy Sankarlal Chakraborty will be something to look forward to in this big match. While Bhowmick has experience on his side, Sankarlal is yet to taste derby defeat as the head coach of Mohun Bagan
Mohun Bagan haven’t lost a Kolkata derby since April 2, 2016 after which the teams have met six times.
Club coach Shankarlal Chakraborty though said he isn’t interested in such trivia because each match is like starting all over again.
And at East Bengal, technical director Subhas Bhowmick said he wished Acosta didn’t have to debut in such trying conditions after a break that began when Costa Rica’s campaign ended in the World Cup.
The latest is East Bengal’s acquisition of Johnny Acosta, a Costa Rican defender who was up against Neymar in the last World Cup held in in Russia., and getting a corporate backer whose financial might should make its protracted funds crunch seem like a bad dream. (UNI)
