East Bengal: End of a winning streak

In the end some people were not even following the results, but only the number of wins East Bengal Club had gathered since the start of the 2010/11 season. And after 18 wins in a row in the Calcutta Premier League (11 wins), Federation Cup (5 wins) and the Durand Cup (2 wins); the series ended in the semifinals of the 123rd Durand Cup's second semifinal against Kolkata rivals Chirag United SC on Thursday night at Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium.

The players, coaching staff and club management were disappointed after the first loss, a new feeling for them this season, and that too in a semifinal; but the season is still young, they have the Federation Cup title to their name, but the Calcutta Premier League title is not under their belt yet and the I-League will only start later this month. And that will be the real test, if East Bengal have really developed or not as a team. On paper surely they have a much stronger squad then in the last few years and the red-and.gold faithful will surely hope the club can bring the I-League for the first time to Kolkata after having won the old National Football League title thrice.

Newly brought in English coach Trevor Morgan has done exceedingly well with his newly put together squad. 18 wins at the start of a season is no mean feat and especially for a club like East Bengal who except in the Federation Cup have struggled and not done too well in the last three seasons.

It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to this first loss. Are they stronger then the earlier teams on character or will the team fall back into old habits of mixed results with ups and downs...