East Bengal wins Kolkata Derby after four years
The first real chance for East Bengal came to captain Harmanjot Khabra who’s long shot from outside the box was met by Jordan Elsey, but Vishal Kaith collected it eventually.
Saul Crespo and Nandhakumar are all smiles after the win.
KOLKATA: A packed crowd bore witness to East Bengal coming out on top against a formidable Mohun Bagan side at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
Early into the game, Anirudh Thapa’s ball was received by Armando Sadiku, but the Albanian couldn’t convert the shot. Spaniard Saul Crespo was solid in the defence for East Bengal holding it together.
The first real chance for East Bengal came to captain Harmanjot Khabra who’s long shot from outside the box was met by Jordan Elsey, but Vishal Kaith collected it eventually.
18 minutes into the game, Noarem Mahesh almost scored for East Bengal, the youngster split past the Mohun Bagan defence and crossed the ball to Siverio but Brendan Hamil made a key block to deny an early lead to East Bengal. Coming into this game as underdogs, East Bengal put on a resilient fight, and both teams had an adequate number of chances that went begging.
Both teams came close to scoring, but failure to convert chances kept the scores level. Minutes before halftime, East Bengal looked like the more attacking side under the guidance of new coach Carles Cuadrat, but the scoreline remained at 0-0 as the teams went into halftime.
Minutes into the second half, Manvir and Dimitri Petratos combine together, but East Bengal’s defence has been solid at the back throughout the entirety of the game.
Halfway into the second half, the deadlock was finally broken. Nandhakumar makes a run on the right flank, and he calmly curls a left-footer to beat Vishal Kaith to give East Bengal the lead in the derby.
The second half saw East Bengal play a confident game with more ball possession. The last time East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan was four years ago in the I-League. With the win on Saturday, East Bengal sit at 4 points with a game in hand, and despite the defeat, Mohun Bagan leads group A with six points after two games.
