The first Kolkata derby in the history of the Indian Super League (ISL) was goalless at half time as new entrants ATK Mohun Bagan and SC East Bengal locked horns at the Tilak Maidan Stadium in Vasco on Friday.
The finishing pass and killer instinct in front of goal was missing from either side as they could only hit 1 shot on target each.
Antonio Lopez Habas lined up ATK Mohun Bagan in his favoured 3-5-2 formation while Robbie Fowler deployed SC East Bengal in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
ATKMB were very slow to get off the blocks and grew into the match only by the end of the first quarter. East Bengal kept their arch rivals at bay and had the better opportunities. However, SCEB have nothing to show for it.
The major incident was Javier Hernandez’s drilled shot forcing a big save from Debjit Majumder, who pushed the ball out for a corner in the 36th minute.
Apart from that the only two talking points were the two yellow cards. The first one was awarded to Balwant Singh for fouling Javier Hernandez in the 22nd minute while the second one was shown to Jayesh Rane for rash tackle on Matti Steinmann in the 45th minute.
It was a tense and cagey derby but East Bengal will be more satisfied about the first half. ATKMB will need to improve their game in the final third and finishing.
