Amidst the misery, East Bengal men's football brought again in the ISL this season, the women's team's performance can be called the only ray of hope this season. 

East Bengal women’s team, in their debut in the ongoing Indian Women’s League (IWL) are on the top of the table so far with 24 points from their nine matches and they have five remaining matches to clinch the title to earn qualification for the AFC Women’s Championship this year. 

Undoubtedly, the club has invested a worthy amount of money (among the IWL clubs) to build up the team under the guidance of country's one of the best coaches in women's football, Anthony Samson Andrews, and out of the 30 registered footballers this season, the club has registered 11 India internationals as well as three top quality foreign footballers. Among the three foreigners Ghana’s Eishaddai Acheampong and Uganda’s Resty Nanziri have experience representing their respective countries. 

Still, it was not easy for Anthony to instill the confidence and the rhythm in the team within only around one-and-half weeks after starting the preparation. He had the only advantage that he knew most of the footballers before. 

Anthony had talked to his footballers a lot, even off the field after regular training sessions to build up the spirit. Additionally, the club had to release six of its national footballers for the national team. Still, the team did not lose their rhythm, winning eight matches out of the nine so far. 

The red-and-gold brigade, in their last nine matches, has scored 22 goals and conceded only seven! Statistics also show that Resty Nanjiri and Eishaddai scored five goals each, but simultaneously, the team’s Indian footballers Soumya Guguloth and Rimpa Halder also netted five and four goals, respectively, proving their importance in the team’s dream run.

Considering the performance also, the team have two unsung heroes like Sabita Yumnam and Susmita Lepcha. Susmita especially, the 29-year old winger has been consistent throughout playing as a left-back. 

However, East Bengal team management seems worried about missing a few key footballers like Naorem Priyanka Devi, Sangita Basfore, and Anju Tmang due to injuries. 

The club also wants more encouragement from its huge fans especially, for their remaining five matches. A senior club official commented, "We have plans to make an appeal to the several fan groups to go to see our last five matches and cheer them as they do for the men's team."