Naorem Mahesh Singh: A bright spot in East Bengal's gloomy season

The left winger had been scintillating throughout the season.

East Bengal saw their Indian Super League (ISL 2022-23) season end in disappointing fashion with a 2-0 loss to rivals ATK Mohun Bagan. In perhaps more than one way, the loss summed up their entire season. East Bengal showed a few glimpses of promise, but were ultimately undone due to a lack of experience within the squad or real quality across multiple levels.

It was another bitter season for the Red & Gold Brigade. They finished on 10th place and were disrupted with a lot of obstacles. Stephen Constantine had a very shaky start to pre-season as he claimed he had only 12 players in the “Maidan” the day he started. Ultimately, the Englishman found it tough to get his newly-created squad working together.

With that being said, there were a few bright spots about the team as well. One of those includes winger Naorem Mahesh Singh. In what was his second season with East Bengal, the 24-year-old had nine goal contributions – the second most in the squad, of course, after Cleiton Silva.

Naorem Mahesh Singh’s evolution at East Bengal

In his debut ISL campaign, the Shillong Lajong youth academy product found it a little bit difficult to adapt to his new environment. He only scored two goals in 18 appearances and was criticized for his inconsistent, error-prone performance.

However, the 24-year-old clearly worked on his weaknesses and saw himself fit in really well under Constantine’s team. He significantly improved on his final delivery, getting the timing and accuracy of his crosses spot on.

He also seemed more confident on his ability with the ball and was given more freedom to roam forward. Singh seemed to have unshackled the rustiness of his first season. The winger also worked on pressing opposition defenders swiftly and also helping with the defensive transitions too!

That allowed him to score two goals and provide seven assists in 19 appearances. He had a goal conversion rate of 11% and created 27 big goal-scoring chances at that too. Mahesh also averaged three crosses per game this season, more than triple of what he managed in the 2021-22 ISL season.

His defensive actions also really benefitted East Bengal, with Mahesh averaging over three tackles per game. That allowed him to create major chances on the counter-attacks and also help restrict a lot of moves on East Bengal’s left side.

Mahesh’s best performances for East Bengal

Mahesh recorded the highest assists for any Indian player in the league stages with seven. This was mostly because of his excellent performances in certain games for the Red & Gold Brigade.

The 24-year-old’s season-defining performance was the one against Jamshedpur FC away from home. Mahesh recorded three assists in the game, a rare feat by any player this season. He provided some scrumptious passes to allow Cleiton Silva score a brace and VP Suhair get among the goals.

Before that, another one of his memorable performances this season was the 1-0 win over Bengaluru FC. He tormented the Blues with his sneaky pressing and brilliantly stole the ball off Suresh Singh to set up Silva’s winner in the game.

Mahesh was also really impressive in East Bengal’s 4-2 loss to FC Goa, providing two assists to keep his side in the game. He also proved his ability to do it against the best of them in his side’s second game against Mumbai City towards the end of the season. Mahesh scored the winning goal in impressive fashion, proving that he is really a valuable talent for East Bengal.

What lies in the future for Naorem Mahesh Singh?

Mahesh is currently tied to a contract with East Bengal until 2024. This means he is likely to spend the next season with them as well. If they are smart enough, then the Kolkata club will try to build their attack upon the 24-year-old as well as Cleiton – who will stay next season too.

Mahesh has proven that he can be a player the team can depend upon. He’s hard-working and never shies away from committing to his defensive duties. Mahesh’s biggest strength however, is to move through the wings and then make good use of his impressive left foot.

The 24-year-old’s crossing is among the best in the league and he has also found that quality to get behind defenders to cause chaos. He can be a major driving force for the Red & Gold Brigade next season and take them to the playoffs if given enough support in form of quality teammates.

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