East Bengal finally managed to get in the groove as they defeated hosts, NorthEast United 3-1 in a bottom of the table clash at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. Goals from new signings Cleiton SIlva, Charis Kyriakou and Jordan O’Doherty saw the Red and Golds get their first win of the 2022-23 season.
Head coach Stephen Constantine was delighted with the performance shown by his men and feels that they still need to work on a lot of things but this win will give the Red and Golds solid motivation ahead of the Kolkata Derby against ATK Mohun Bagan. He then also questioned back at the critics of how East Bengal played well in the first two games aswell but they were still finding feet and now with their first win they will only improve from here.
“A lot has been said about the first two games and how we have played. We are still finding our feet, we’re still trying to find the right balance. We played well for periods in the first game against Kerala Blasters FC, then in the second half against FC Goa we played really well. Today we started well and finished well, I am very proud of the boys. The performance was good and it was a great win. Now that we’ve got that out of the way we look forward to the next game,” Stephen Constantine stated at the post game press conference.
Constantine was quizzed about the late goal that his men conceded once again, but the English tactician did not pay much heed as he shared how the game was well and truly over before that. It is certainly that East Bengal would have loved a cleansheet but Matt Derbyshire’s late goal came out of nowhere.
“Honestly, we are upset to have conceded a goal from set play. But look it was three-nil and everyone looked tired with the game as good as done. It is a silly lapse in concentration, but it is a little blemish if you like three-nil better than three-one but it’s okay, not much concerned about it,” Constantine added.
Lastly Constantine shared how winning a game would give his players that massive boost in confidence and now even they believe they can win the Derby. He also highlights how the result can be anything in these types of matches. “When you win a game, you definitely feel better about yourselves. The message is slowly but surely being understood and in a derby, those are the type of games where anything can happen. So, we are looking forward to it and are confident,” Constantine signed off.
