East Bengal have never won the I-League title and failed to clinch it once again as they fell a point short of Chennai City FC’s tally of 42.
The Kolkata outfit had to win their final game against Gokulam Kerala and hoped that Chennai City FC would drop points at home to Minerva Punjab.
While Minerva did take the lead, they eventually conceded twice in the second half as Chennai picked up three crucial points to win their maiden I-League title.
Lalrindika Ralte questioned the intentions of Minerva as they substituted two foreign players, namely Ronald Bilala and Juan Quero in the second half.
“We played really well and tried our best to win. We conceded first but still won the game. We were not thinking about the title. Before the game also we were focused on only our match. We had to depend on the Chennai City vs Minerva Punjab game.
“Minerva owner Ranjit Bajaj had told before the game that they would try to win. I heard that they substituted two foreigners, I don't why. Football should be played fairly. I don't know what they did,” Ralte told Goal.
At half-time, we were told that Chennai were losing 1-0. That obviously worked as a motivation. But then Chennai won in the end,” he added.
East Bengal shall now focus on winning the Super Cup having missed out on the league title.
“I am not thinking about the next season. Our coach (Alejandro Menendez) recently signed a contract extension. Our target is to prepare and do well for the Super Cup.”
