Wait continues for East Bengal

The agony was evident, as the Spaniard experienced what could be the most bittersweet victory of his career.

East Bengal players during a practice session in Kozhikode on the eve of their match against Gokulam Kerala | Manu r mavelil

KOZHIKODE: “No comments”. Words East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez said when asked if he would like to comment on Chennai City FC winning the 2018-19 I-League title.

The agony was evident, as the Spaniard experienced what could be the most bittersweet victory of his career. In the title-deciding round, the Red and Golds did their bit by beating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1, while hoping that Chennai City FC draw or lose against Minerva Punjab. But, the southern side upstaged them with a remarkable 3-1 win to become the eighth team to win the I-League.

East Bengal will never be on that list, as Indian Supuer League almost certainly, will replace I-League as the premier club competition in India. Once the final round co­m­­­­menced and Chennai Ci­ty were left trailing 1-0 in the third minute, things lo­oked positive for East Bengal. “We were never paying attention to what was happ­ening in the other match. We just wanted to focus on wh­at we were doing and win our game,” Menendez said.

An empty stadium made it less intimidating for East Bengal in their quest for three points. However, East Bengal never gave the impression of a side who looked to seal a comfortable win. In hindsight, just like the win, their entire season had been a long, hard grind, and Menendez had done well to take the team this far after a stuttering start to the campaign.

The club dealt with a transfer ban and three back to back defeats at the start of the season to overtake teams like Real Kashmir FC and Churchill Brothers in the title race.

On Sunday, they needed a win against Gokulam, and a slip up by Chennai City. But here, they were almost made to look second best against Gokulam, which won just three games all season and were ninth on the table. Menendez had groomed Jobby Justin into one of his most potent weapons this seas­on. But when he needed him the most, the cl­ub’s joint top scorer was busy serving his six-ma­­tch suspension, owing to a spitting inc­ident.

At the other end, Gokulam had a clinical forward in Marcus Joseph who gave his side a 1-0 le­ad. A late fightback that saw a penalty goal fr­om Jamie Santos and a Laldanmawia Ralte st­rike raised East Bengal’s hopes. However, Ch­ennai did enough to deny them the chance. Despite 130 titles in 99 years, the I-League trophy continues to remain elusive for East Bengal.