Oscar Bruzon praises two players' performances in East Bengal's hard-fought Hyderabad FC win

East Bengal sit at the eigth spot in the ISL table.

Oscar Bruzon’s East Bengal picked up their third straight win in the Indian Super League (ISL) with a 2-0 victory over Hyderabad FC at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata on Wednesday (26 February).

It took an own goal from Manoj Mohammed and a late Raphael Messi Bouli strike to help the Red & Gold Brigade keep their dreams of qualifying for the ISL playoffs alive.

Oscar Bruzon admitted his surprise with how his players performed the game, but in a good way. He stated: “Actually I was surprised with my players’ performance today. It was difficult for us to get into our rhythm, especially in the first half.

“We missed the firesh attitude as we played a game four days back. But in the second half, the energy and support of our fans made the difference and in the second half the only team playing on the pitch was East Bengal,” he added.

Praise for David Lalhlansanga

David Lalhlansanga made a significant impact after coming on in place of Dimitrios Diamantakos. It was his header that forced the own goal and the striker’s performance earned praise from Bruzon, who claimed: “David was warming up and the plan was to use him in the second half, but we did’t know which position. Suddenly Dimi Diamantakos showed signs of fatigue and he replaced him.

“David was one of the factors (for the win), he’s a differential player in the second half. He’s a hungry player, very humble and he’s someone who is scoring almost in every game. We know when David comes into the pitch, al the attacking force of the team is there and any second ball, any action in the box can be converted to goals. We need to praise David and praise the crowd for recognizing that this player is making a difference for us,” he also quipped.

Raphael Messi Bouli’s influence for East Bengal attack

The gaffer was also delighted to see Messi Bouli score his first goal for the club. He expressed his pleasure for the kind of energy the forward brings to his side, stating: “We talk a lot about the sharp players our team probably didn’t have in the first half of the season. One of the players who is doing for us is PV Vishnu. Today, Messi was our most penetrateive player and the player that was giving all the depth.

“It’s true that we tried controlling the wings in the first half, but we were’t that good enough ont eh wide areas. We were not able to expose the defence, and that’s why when Richard Celis came on in the second half and Naorem Mahesh Singh playing on the right side and the inclusion of David making runs behind the defence. For Messi, the game was more direct and vertical.

“We missed a player like Messi, a player who gave depth to the player. Messi is exactly the player we needed for that,” the gaffer finished with.

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