A schoolboy error by lanky goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has jeopardised East Bengal’s chances of being the first Indian team to enter the final of the AFC Cup. His error of judgment allowed Chadi Hammami to score early in the second half and this enabled Kuwait SC triumph 4-2. The goal could have easily been prevented. If the score line had remained at 2-3, East Bengal had a glorious chance of winning the home leg by a solitary goal and reaching the final on the away goals rule. Now East Bengal have to win their home match on October 22 at the Salt Lake Stadium by at least 2-0, to oust holders Kuwait SC. They will be banking on their vociferous supporters as about 100,000 are expected to attend. The first half hour will be crucial. If East Bengal can score an early goal, Kuwait SC’s defence may panic due to the massive crowd support that the home team will get. But East Bengal’s Brazilian coach Marcus Falopa has to avoid the cardinal error he made in the first leg in Kuwait. In the away match East Bengal played a high line and used the off-side tactics to stifle the home side’s rampaging attacks, mostly initiated by the crafty Rogerio Coutinho. This was risky as East Bengal’s back four are slow in recovery. Their quartet of Naoba Singh, Uga Okpara, Arnab Mondal and Robert Lalthalamma lack the speed and sudden acceleration to chase back, like stalwarts of the past, such as Shymal Banerjee, Alok Mukherjee and Chinmoy Chatterjee. East Bengal’s midfield must also be re-shaped. The absence of the injured Ryuji Sueoka is being felt a lot. The ploy of converting Saumik Dey from left back to central midfield has not clicked. It is essential they start with Cavin Lobo and Mehtab Hossein as central midfielders. Mehtab will function as a defensive screen and Cavin, who impressed as a substitute in the first leg can play a more attacking game. Similarly Falopa must start with both Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal’s top-scorer with four goals in this competition) and Baljit Sahni. Ralte excels in accurate passes especially in dead ball situations, like Renedy Singh of the recent past. Sahni provides thrust and speed on the flanks, which can unsettle Kuwait SC’s back four. In the first leg, East Bengal’s midfielders were very defensive and did not utilise the speed of their striker James Moga, who got limited service. This is East Bengal’s problem area, as since attacking midfielder Penn Orji’s departure to Mohammedan Sporting at the start of this season, they lack penetration. Considering East Bengal had progressed to the AFC Cup quarter finals when the last season got over, they should have retained key players like Penn Orji for these vital, penultimate round matches. Orji is quite indispensable with his ability to initiate attacks. Another area of weakness is the absence of genuine wingers. Both Sanju Pradhan and Ishfaq Ahmed have opted for contracts with the IMG-R League and so are unavailable. Again adequate replacements have not been recruited. As East Bengal’s attack is too one-dimensional, overcoming Kuwait SC 2-0, even in their home match will be an uphill task.
