Haokip slams brace as Salgaocar stun East Bengal

Vasco: The humiliation of February 7, 2015, returned to haunt title aspirants East Bengal as Salgaocar FC turned the tables on the Kolkata giants to register their most impressive victory this season in an I-League 10th round match at the Tilak Maidan on Tuesday.
A worthy victory for a spectacular showing. There were outstanding individual performances but the commitment and teamwork on display were not just refreshing but also proved East Bengal coach Biswajit Bhattacharya right when he said on match eve that Salgaocar was a dangerous side.
What was remarkable was the determination shown by the entire squad, especially after the exit of their talismanic striker Darryl Duffy following a groin injury as early as in the 10th minute. They fought like gladiators, chased every ball, effectively used the sliding tackle, threw everything they had at East Bengal and came out trumps.
Calvin Mbarga proved a worthy replacement when coach Santosh Kashyap moved him into Duffy’s position. Though Alesh Sawant is yet to find his bearings, the fans for the first time had something to cheer about. It was the midfield quartet of Saran Singh, Martin Scott, Jakichand Singh and Thongkosiem Haokip that took the game away from East Bengal. They won several balls, held the team together and broke down the defence with precision probing.
It was in the midfield that East Bengal lost the match. Mehtab Hossain, Sanju Pradhan and Bikash Jairu were left frustrated as they were hardly given any space to breathe. And when they did find the break, they simply could not get past one man who was Salgaocar’s lone Trojan – Brazilian Eder Monteiro.
The athletically built defender was immaculate, simply unbeatable. He was all over the defence, appearing from nowhere like a ghost to steal the thunder from Ranti Martins, Mohd Rafique, Bikaswh Jairu or Bernard Mendy.
Ranti was left totally frustrated but for the opportunistic goal he converted in the 25th minute from a defensive lapse to neutralize Haokip’s early fourth-minute lead.
It was a disciplined performance by Salgaocar that saw them breach the East Bengal defence and regain the lead after Jackichand was brought down inside the box in the 34th minute by Samad Ali Mallick. Calvin Mbarga confidently beat goalkeeper Luis Barreto from the spot.
Salgaocar continued to hold sway after the change of ends and conjured up a few more scoring opportunities especially after the Kolkatans lost the services of their Rock of Gibraltar, Belo Rasaq, to dizziness. His was a void they simply failed to fill. And once they were reduced to 10 men after substitute Sehnaj Singh received a red card for hacking down Jackichand, the writing was on the wall.
Mendy almost got East Bengal the equalizer in the second minute of added time but goalkeeper Karanjit Singh made a brilliant save, tapping his header over.
Then came the icing on the cake for Salgaocar in the 94th minute when Haokip picked up a clever long ball from Scott, made his way down the middle from the left, selected his spot and unleashed a wicked low shot between two defenders that beat Luis under the bar for the team’s third, and his second, goal of the match for a well-deserved triumph.