Mohun Bagan Super Giant exacted revenge on East Bengal, defeating their arch-rivals 1-0 to retain the IFA Shield title at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.
Bagan thus pulled off a local double – winning the Calcutta Football League and the Shield – after 47 years. The last time was in 1979.
East Bengal had routed Bagan 4-1 in the Durand Cup final in late August. So Thursday’s win would sort of settle scores for Bagan coach Panagiotis Dilmperis against his East Bengal counterpart Antonio Lopez Habas.
Samir Zeljkovic, signed during the off-season from Punjab FC, scored the all-important goal. It was Zeljkovic’s first goal in a derby.
The goal came at the stroke of half-time. Edmund Lalrindika gave away the ball to Zeljkovic, who laid it off for Sahal Abdul Samad before running into space in the area. Sahal took his time and dinked the ball over the East Bengal defence, back to Zeljkovic, who used his body to shield his marker Sandip Mandi before shooting the ball past rival goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa.
Just 48 hours after India hosted Uruguay in an international friendly, the stadium was once again buzzing. Even though it was not jam-packed, around 60 per cent of the stadium was full.
Bagan’s Lallianzuala Chhangte, Sahal, goalkeeper Vishal Kaith and midfielder Dejan Drazic had a good game. Drazic, who was the Man of the Match, played most of the second half with a bandaged head after colliding with Mandi in the 55th minute.
Chhangte was impressive during his 70-minute stay on the pitch, involved in a lot of running and a good exchange of play with Zeljkovic. Before the goal came, Chhangte could have actually got his name on the scoresheet.
In the 36th minute, Zeljkovic won the ball off East Bengal captain Basim Rashid
and played it to Chhangte, who let one fly from outside the box. The ball was travelling fast, and goalkeeper Lachenpa reacted quickly to his right to push the ball away for a corner.
Sahal also had a good match. Apart from the assist to Zeljkovic, Sahal showed skills that he has earned a name for – even though inconsistency has always been his problem – and was a constant thorn in the East Bengal flesh. Could this be Sahal’s season? That remains to be seen, but for now he looks to be in a happy space.
In the 37th minute, Sahal, with a lovely touch over an opposition player, set himself
up for a half-volley from outside the box. The ball was headed to the bottom left corner, but Lachenpa was alert and got down just in time to punch it away.
Bagan had a chance in the 23rd minute too.
Tekcham Abhishek Singh played a delightful cross into the far side of the box. Mehtab Singh was completely unmarked, but his header was way off the mark.
East Bengal’s best chance came in the sixth minute. Chhangte gave away the ball and East Bengal wrong-footed Bagan on the counter. Daniel Ramirez played Edmund on the left.
Edmund, who had scored a hat-trick in the Durand Cup final, tried to find the
bottom right corner, but Bagan goalkeeper Vishal Kaith effected a good save.
East Bengal coach Habas will not be happy with his team’s performance. With the ISL-13 and AFC Champions League 2 campaigns beginning shortly, Habas expected a better show from his men.
East Bengal looked disjointed and at times seemed disinterested. It was as if they were forced to take the field.
Dilmperis, the Bagan coach, has also learnt from the Durand humiliation. He used a four-man defence – he had gone for a three-man back in the Durand clash – something Indian players are comfortable with.
It paid off as Bagan won the Shield for the 22nd time.