Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: East Bengal team management was fed up with waiting for Nigerian striker Effiong. Finally, they did not wait any longer and signed a one-year contract with Polish striker Lukas Zolinski. Lukas, who plays for the Polish U-20 national team, has played more than 200 matches for the Polish top tier Ekstraklasa club. With the inclusion of Lukas, East Bengal coach Antonio Lopez strengthened Habas's hand and increased his options in the upcoming Shield match and the next AFC Champions League Tier 2 match.
In the past, they faced Al Faizali in the 2005 AFC Cup group stage and Al Widah in the 2028 AFC Cup group stage, but this is the first time East Bengal faced Jordan's Al Hussein. They won 2-0 against Al Weedat. Such a chance to win came to East Bengal on Wednesday when they took a 2-0 lead against Al Hussein in the AFC Champions League Tier Two match. The red and yellow brigade had a lot of dominance in the match. But despite leading with goals from Dani Ramirez and Anwar, East Bengal lost control of the game in the second half. Despite the efforts of the red and yellow coach Antonio Lopez Habas, he could not suppress the desperate fight of the opponent Al Hussein to save the loss. Al Hussein equalized the match with 2 goals and snatched a sure victory for East Bengal by drawing the match 2-2.
Getting a point from an away match is not bad at all. Especially with the pressure on the opponent Al Husseini in the field of Amman, Jordan. Although before this match, East Bengal head coach Sir Habas had said in Kolkata and Amman that his team would not play for a single point even in an away match. They would play to win. Coach Habas walked on that path in the match. However, that goal was not achieved as the team's play deteriorated in the second half. Habas regrets not winning the match, but is not disappointed. He does not even blame the footballers for not being able to win the match.
Habas's clear statement was, 'The footballers took to the field as soon as the match was won. Our footballers were in control of the game in the first half. They even went ahead by 2 goals. More goals could have come if they had taken advantage of the opportunities. That would have completely put the match in their pocket. But Jordan is a strong opponent. Moreover, they played at their own ground. With the support of the fans. That is why they came back to the game strongly in the second half. Our footballers could not handle it. They conceded 2 goals. The match was drawn. It would have been better to get 3 points, but as I said before, I will accept the result after fighting for 90 minutes and playing aggressive football. So I am satisfied with one point. The team will prepare to face the remaining matches of the AFC Champions League Tier Two by using the lessons learned from the Al Hussein match.
Dani Ramirez scored a goal himself in the Al Hussein match, and Anwar scored the team's second goal with a header from his corner. Regarding the draw in the Al Hussein match, Ramirez said, "The most important thing is to help get a point by playing in the East Bengal jersey. Although I jumped on the field to get 3 points, still getting a point is good enough. Returning from the Jordan field with a point is an achievement for any visiting club. I am happy to score the second goal for East Bengal. And that is because of getting it on a big stage like the AFC Champions League Tier Two. Anwar's header from my corner was also brilliant.'
Ramirez is confident about the next match of ACL 2. East Bengal will face Iraq's Al Shorta at home on October 13 at Yuva Bharati. According to him, 'The way we fought in the Al Hussain match, I hope to win the Al Shorta match at home. I can make the fans proud. But we have to improve in a few areas. We got one point from the match by playing as a team in the Al Hussain match. We can take home 3 points in the Al Shorta match with the motivation of the East Bengal fans.'