Mohun Bagan’s Aser Pierrick Dicka celebrates after scoring 2nd goal. (Source: PTI)
An emotional Mohun Bagan camp on Sunday dedicated their superb I-League derby win over arch-rivals East Bengal to star Haitian striker Sony Norde, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following a right knee injury.
Dipanda Dicka, who scored a double in their 2-0 win, said the goals were for Norde, something that was also acknowledged by coach Shankarlal Chakraborty.
Mohun Bagan captain Norde, who was instrumental in the club winning major domestic trophies namely I-League (2014) and Federation Cup (2015), will be released by the club as he needs to go under the knife for right meniscus.
Norde commands hero-worshipping in Mohun Bagan something that was evident today as the green and maroon fans turned up in huge numbers wearing masks of the Haitian.
“Today I will dedicate the win to Sony Norde. The win was very important for the team. I must say that the second goal was my personal best,” Dicka said.
Dicka had a new partner in Akram Moghrabi today and the striker said they hit the right note.
“I was hungry to score today. The communication went off quite well with Akram. We could have scored eight goals today. We must focus on winning the I-League now,” he said.
Coach Chakraborty also echoed Dicka’s views and said Norde had an immense role to play in the making of this team.
“The coach’s job is to prepare the team. Without Sony we couldn’t have made the team. His contribution to Mohun Bagan has been immense. This win is for Sony Norde,” Chakraborty said.
“They (East Bengal) played well but somehow we played better,” he added.