Pratyusha Jana:

East Bengal’s defeat in the IFA Shield has to be the dramatic part. However, the shocking part for the fans was East Bengal changing their goalkeeper at the tiebreaker.

Gill saved the match after their 1-1 equaliser. However, at the tiebreaker, Debjit Majumder was seen to take the stage. While there are many factors to be considered, the change of goalkeeper has indeed affected the match and tie-breaker, forcing EBFC on the road to defeat.

While talking about this change, coach Oscar Bruzon has admitted the mistake; he ruefully stated, “While planning, we usually take many options into consideration. I listen to my coaches and other strategists as well, but yes, it was a fault. It was my fault for changing the goalkeeper at the essential time.”

In the tiebreaker only Jay Gupta was seen missing the net. Gupta, while giving an impressive performance throughout the tournament, is indeed a new player. Trusting him with the responsibility of tiebreaker was also questionable.

In the press conference Oscar admitted and stated, “Well, yes, he is a new player. But we have to encourage them because they are good players. I wanted to encourage him.”

He further stated that “Yes, we played well today. We are continuously improving, and Mohun Bagan has the advantage of knowing their players, while we have relatively more new faces, but we are looking forward to the Super Cup.”

Oscar looks forward to beat Mohun Bagan in the Super Cup.

The winning side’s coach, José Molina, seemed rather upbeat.

He stated, “We are the champions; let it seep in first.”

While talking about the Super Cup, he stated, “Yeah, we will face East Bengal again.