Ratings: Pedro Martin cameo uplifts Odisha FC, sinks East Bengal

The Juggernauts are now back in winning ways, while the Red & Golds' momentum disrupts.

It was an inspiring second-half performance from Odisha FC who came from a two-goal deficit to win the game against East Bengal in ISL 2022-23. For East Bengal, it was a disheartening second-half performance. The home team started well and went 2-0 ahead in the first half. Odisha made a brilliant comeback in the second half to seal the game 4-2. With this win, Odisha rise to the third position on the points table with 12 points. East Bengal remain in the eighth position with six in their pocket.

In light of these, let us take a look at how the players of both teams performed.

East Bengal FC (By Souvari Paul)

Kamaljit Singh - 5

It was a bad outing for Kamaljit as he allowed four goals to pass through. He faced five shots on target and allowed four. Apart from that, he made one save, two clearances, and caught one ball. With the entire defence collapsing in the second half, he did not have much to do in many instances.

Ankit Mukherjee - 6.5

Ankit had a mixed game tonight, just like his team. He played well in the first half but was not able to keep up his performance in the second. He was subbed off in the 76th minute. The right-back had 47 touches in the game. He made one successful tackle, three clearances, three successful interceptions, and blocked two shots.

Lalchungnunga - 5.5

Lalchungnunga was good in the first half. He had 44 touches in total and made 23 passes. He made two successful tackles, three clearances, and three successful interceptions throughout the game.

Ivan Gonzalez - 6

Looking at the scorecard, it can be said every defender of East Bengal had a bad day. Gonzalez was no exception. He played well in the first half. But his second-half performance was not good. Throughout the game, he had 68 touches and made 32 passes. He made one successful tackle, ten clearances, and four successful interceptions. He also blocked one shot. But, he also fumbled at times!

Pritam Singh - 6.5

Pritam’s first start of the season looked bright in the first half. He looked lively when he made good forward runs and aided East Bengal’s attacks whenever it was possible. He floated in two crosses and had 59 touches and delivered 24 passes. The left-back was poor though in defensive duties, especially in the second half. He made only one clearance throughout.

VP Suhair - 8

Suhair was the best player for East Bengal on the pitch today. He assisted both of East Bengal’s goals. In total, he created three chances, all of which were threatening crosses. However, Suhair missed a golden opportunity to score early in the second half. He had 39 touches and made two tackles and one successful interception.

Charalambos Kyriakou - 7.5

Kyriakou looked very effective today in East Bengal’s midfield. However unfortunately, he was forced out in the 53rd minute after a concussion. During the game, he looked very lively in the middle, mostly in the first half. He took one shot and made one successful interception.

Jordan O’Doherty - 7.0

O’Doherty had a decent game today. He was on the pitch for around 76 minutes. He looked quite lively in the middle of the park and combined well with others to create chances. The 25-year-old had 35 touches and made 22 successful passes. He also made one tackle and one clearance.

Naorem Mahesh Singh - 7.5

Naorem was brilliant in the first half. He looked lively and threatening. He scored the second goal of the game. But in the second half, he was not much effective. In addition, he whipped in two crosses, took four corners, and had 43 touches. Defensively, he was able to make just one successful tackle. 

Semboi Haokip - 7.0

Semboi scored the first goal of the game. He took three shots, two of which were on target and had 39 touches in total. He contributed defensively as well by making two successful tackles, one successful interception, and blocking one shot. But just like his team, the second half was not good for him.

Cleiton Silva - 6.5

Cleiton looked threatening in the first half but was disappeared in the second. He took two shots throughout the game, out of which one was on target - it was goal-scoring chance as well. Overall, he had 45 touches and made 28 passes throughout.

Substitutes 

Alex Lima - 6.5

Lima played for 37 minutes and had a decent game. He whipped in two crosses, had 39 touches, and made 24 passes. Moreover, he made two tackles and two successful interceptions. But, it was noticeable that he is still not fully fit.

Himanshu Jangra - 5.5

Himanshu was on the pitch for around 14 minutes. He was able to take one shot, which was on target. Other than that, he did not get much support.

Sarthak Golui - 4.5

Sarthak had very bad 14 minutes. He was not much effective in those minutes. He should have done better in Odisha’s fourth goal.  

Eliandro - 4.5

Eliandro was also on the pitch for 14 minutes. He was not effective in any way during this time. 

Odisha FC (By Tarkesh Jha)

Amrinder Singh – 5.5

Amrinder was found out in the first-half by East Bengal’s two goals. However, he recovered well and made some fine saves to prevent Constantine’s men from extending their lead in the proceedings.

Narender Gahlot – 6

Gahlot recorded two tackles, three clearances and four interceptions to put in a critical defensive shift from the right side of the defensive line.  

Carlos Delgado – 6

Delgado helped build Odisha’s play from the back and maintained a good 78% passing accuracy. He also put in a couple of critical tackles to go with his three clearances and two interceptions for the night.

Osama Malik – 4.5

Malik failed to help Odisha grab control over the proceedings from the centre of the park. He, like Panwar, was taken off at half-time and the Juggernauts appeared to be a much better unit thereafter.

Sahil Panwar – 5

Panwar was hauled off at half-time as Gombau looked to shake up the setup to reinvigorate Odisha’s attacking instincts. The move delivered the desired outcome and it didn’t reflect particularly well on the multiple players who were substituted at the halfway mark.

Isaac Vanmalsawma – 4.5

Issac too was at fault in failing to establish Odisha’s supremacy in the midfield. He wasn’t industrious enough to regain possession nor was he intuitive or creative enough with the ball in the first-half.

Saul Crespo – 6.5

Saul was amongst the many architects that led Odisha’s incredible comeback in this game. He recorded an assist but also put in some tenacious defensive efforts once the midfield was remodelled in the second-half.

Thoiba Singh – 5.5

Thoiba was persisted with by the coach and he, much like the rest of the team, put in an improved performance in the second-half; something that showed up in the eventual result as well.

Raynier Fernandes – 4.5

Raynier would have wanted more from himself, especially as Odisha looked to desperately cut down their deficit towards the conclusive phases of the first-half. The team looked insipid without his creative impetus in the final-third for as long as he stayed on the pitch.

Nandhakumar Sekar – 7

Nandhakumar infused tremendous energy in the second-half and played a critical role in creating Odisha’s third goal before notching their final successful strike of the night.

Diego Mauricio – 7.5

Mauricio sprung into life in the second-half and instantly turned Odisha’s fortunes by assisting two quick goals to level the scores. He certainly looked much more threatening with Pedro Martins beside him. The forward had to be unfortunately subbed off due to an injury concern in the 73rd minute. 

Substitutes

Pedro Martin - 8

Pedro Martin played the role of the ideal substitute as he inspired a comeback that the Juggernauts will be proud of for quite some games to come. The dynamic forward neatly finished two goals and made a stronger case to start in tandem with Mauricio, going ahead in the campaign. 

Nikhil Prabhu - 6

Nikhil Prabhu kept things tidy at the back, didn't embark into any misadventures and accordingly helped Odisha redirect their focus on areas higher up on the field.

Denechandra Meitei - 6.5

Denechandra Meitei allowed Odisha to get more creative and attacking from different areas of the field. He assisted Jerry's goal to cap off an ideal performance in the second-half. 

Jerry Mawihmingthanga - 7.5

Jerry's introduction was amongst the few tactical moves that brought about a lot of productivity in Odisha’s offensive moves. He managed to top it with a thumping finish even though he wasn't fully fit for the game. 

Victor Rodriguez - 5

He came on as a substitute for the injured Mauricio but didn't have much to do as Odisha had already stamped their authority on the game by then.