Joseba Beitia, Mohun Bagan’s hero of the day, believes that his team have it in them to win the I-League this time. On the other hand, senior East Bengal official Debabrata Sarkar is afraid that if they continue with such unimpressive performances, they might have to “fight to save relegation”.

That summed up the Derby story on Sunday.

“It’s a long way to go, but if we can continue to win matches and play according to our plans, we can win the league,” Man of the Match Beitia said.

Baba Diawara, who scored his first goal for Bagan, sounded happy. “The atmosphere was electric. I quite liked it,” Senegalese Diwara said.

Bagan coach Kibu Vicuna reminded his players that there was much to improve. “I would like to dedicate this win to the supporters. Today we were better in the first-half. East Bengal were better in the second half. We have to improve our performance if we want to remain at the top of the table,” Vicuna said.

Vicuna’s East Bengal counterpart, Alejandro Menendez, however was not overly worried. “I think we played good football, created many chances. If we play like this we will do well in the next matches. Last season also we lost three consecutive matches but finally lost the league by just a point. So I am not worried,” the Spaniard said.