East Bengal FC head coach was delighted with his team’s response in the second half as they beat Hyderabad FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) on Wednesday.

After an eventful first half with chances for both sides, East Bengal FC took control in the second half, and their resilience paid off as they broke the deadlock from a corner, resulting in an own goal by Manoj Mohammed. Raphael Messi Bouli sealed the victory with a late strike, delivering the final nail in the coffin. Their eighth win of the season lifted them to eighth place in the standings, keeping their playoff hopes alive.

“I was surprised with the performance of our players. It was difficult for us getting into the rhythm of the game, especially in the first half. We missed that fresh attitude probably because of the game we played four days back. But in the second half, the energy, the support of our people, that made the difference. In the second half, there was only one team on the pitch and that was East Bengal FC,” Bruzon stated in the post-match press conference.

With this result, East Bengal FC registered their highest-ever points tally in a single ISL season. However, they remain five points off sixth place and must win their remaining two matches to keep their playoff hopes alive. Even with maximum points, the Red & Gold Brigade will need favorable results elsewhere to secure their first-ever ISL playoff qualification. Despite the uncertainty, Bruzon urged his team to keep fighting until the very end.

“Three weeks back, everyone was saying that it was impossible and the chances were zero percent.. (but) coming from all the people along the team inside and when I say inside, it is players, management, fans, we dreamt about the (playoff) qualification. We knew we were handicapped from the beginning of the season that we were coming from very far. A couple of weeks back, we were still in 11th position but it's true that the performances were showing good signs. If you ask me, no doubt, we want to make it but it depends on other results. We are not going to stop fighting until our last breath. At the moment, if we don't qualify, we will accept it. But in that moment, we want the pride of fighting until our last breath,” he said.

Despite struggling to find a breakthrough in the first half, East Bengal FC’s attack came to life after the introduction of David Lalhansanga and Richard Celis. Their impact was immediate, as both were involved in the opening goal from a corner. Messi, who had been a constant attacking presence and even struck the post, finally got his reward with a brilliant solo effort which was his first goal for the club since arriving in January.

“Today Messi was the most penetrating player, a player that was giving all the depth,” Bruzon explained.

“But when (Richard) Celis came on in the second half and (Naorem) Mahesh played on the right side and the inclusion of David (Lalhansanga) with all the runs behind the defence and Messi, the game was more direct and vertical. We have a lot of players with control but we were missing players to give depth to the team. And Messi is exactly the type of player we needed for that,” he added.