ISL 2022-23 Live Commentary: East Bengal vs FC Goa

Also Read:

• Match Report: East Bengal FC vs FC Goa Report
• Player Ratings: East Bengal FC vs FC Goa Player Ratings
• East Bengal Press Conference: Stephen Constantine Press Conference
• FC Goa Press Conference: Carlos Pena Press Conference

7:00 PM: Hello everyone and welcome to Khel Now’s LIVE COVERAGE of the East Bengal vs FC Goa match in the Indian Super League 2022-23. The kick-off is just half an hour away! I’m your host Uttiyo Sarkar, and I’ll be keeping you company through what promises a fascinating evening of football. Please wait for 30 Seconds for the Live blog to load.

East Bengal vs FC Goa: Build-up

Wednesday will be the first time East Bengal fans will cheer for their favourite team at home for an ISL fixture. The last two seasons were held in Goa behind closed doors. Hence, fans were denied the opportunity to back the team in the stadium even though they had made their ISL debut in 2020. On the other hand, after a poor last season, FC Goa will be looking to make amends by putting in a solid start against a vulnerable East Bengal. Similar to East Bengal, FC Goa fans will also want this season to be successful in a bid to forget what happened last year.

The Stakes

For East Bengal, the 2022-23 season is of utmost importance. They had fared very poorly in the last two editions of the league and would not like a repetition of the same this year. For a century-old club with millions of supporters, having one poor season is bad enough, and East Bengal had two consecutive ones, the last year seeing them hit rock bottom.

The year 2022 was full of turmoil for the club as it saw a change in its ownership. This season too, the team did not play well in their first game against KBFC and lost 3-1. Thus, Wednesday’s game is of paramount importance to the team and its fans. They would be desperate to win the game and open their account for the season.

Also Read: Preview: Both East Bengal and FC Goa seek resurrection in new ISL season

The story of FC Goa had been quite similar to that of East Bengal last year. They finished ninth on the table, only above East Bengal and NorthEast United. They would like to change their fortunes this year. Their intent is quite evident from the many changes of guard seen at the club before the onset of the season, most notable of which was the return of Carlos Pena as the club’s head coach.

Apart from a change in the hot seat, the club executed many high-profile signings, examples of which include Alvaro Vazquez and Marc Valiente. With East Bengal losing their first game, FC Goa would like to take advantage of East Bengal’s many on-field vulnerabilities to make a solid start to the league by registering their first victory.