East Bengal soak in derby joy

Time of India

a day ago

Kolkata: As the referee blew the final whistle, East Bengal players dropped to the ground one after another. This time around, in delight. The red-and-gold stands of the Salt Lake Stadium were already lit up with flaming torches; some fans were crying, some hugging each other.
As Oscar Bruzon made his way to the Mohun Bagan SG bench for a customary handshake with his opposite Jose Molina, the table was turned by then, and how.
East Bengal rode a brace from Dimitrios Diamantakos to down Mohun Bagan 2-1 here on Sunday, storming into the Durand Cup semifinals and ending the green-and-maroon brigade's long reign at the venue.
Coming off the bench in the 19th minute following in-form striker Hamid Ahadad's early injury, Diamantakos set the tempo by converting a penalty in the 38th minute.
The Greek forward made it 2-0 seven minutes after the break, providing finish to a sumptuous move originating in the centre circle.
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Anirudh Thapa reduced the margin to 1-2 in the 68th minute as Mohun Bagan's gameplan suddenly gained a sense of structure, forcing East Bengal to roll with the punches. But Bruzon's side eventually weathered that storm and emerged triumphant, handing Bagan their first defeat at the venue in 19 matches.
The win — which came 22 days after a 3-2 win in the CFL Premier Division — was also East Bengal's first in a 'senior' derby in six matches since they had got the better of the arch-rivals, also in the Durand Cup on Aug 12 in 2023.
In the Durand Cup semifinal on Wednesday, East Bengal will take on another city side Diamond Harbour FC, who defeated Jamshedpur FC 2-0 in the day's earlier quarterfinal.
With influential Palestinian midfielder Mohammad Rashid back home owing to a family tragedy, East Bengal suffered another jolt early on in the match when Hamid was forced to leave the field with a muscle pull, thus paving the way for Diamantakos to enter the stage and steal the show.
With the arrival of new foreigners like Hamid and Miguel Fereira, the Greek forward's role in Bruzon's scheme of things has been subject of various speculations. But when an opportunity presented itself, he grasped it in a game-changing manner.
With Mohamad Rakip keeping a constant vigil on Liston Colaco's movements and a brilliant Kevin Sibille covering Jamie Maclaren, Bagan's attacking aspirations were somewhat subdued in the first half.
With such worries once taken care of at the back, East Bengal looked more pro-active and adventurous.
Still, the Bagan stands at their happy hunting ground brought their thunder, just as Molina expected, but East Bengal soon produced a silencer.
Edmund Lalrindika's appeal for a penalty was ignored by the referee Venkatesh R, but when Bipin Singh came calling from the other end, Bagan full-back Asish Rai Singh was guilty of tripping him from behind inside the box and Diamantakos made no mistake in beating Vishal Kaith from the resultant spot-kick.
Molina introduced Jason Cumimngs in place of Tamang and moved Sahal Abdul Samad to the right wing. Samad almost struck but Bagan woke up to more concerns when East Bengal swelled the lead. In a swift move, Miguel started in the middle and Naorem Mahesh Singh released the ball for Diamanatkos to pounce on the opportunity and, with Alberto Rodriguez attempting a desperate block, the ball took a slight deflection off the Bagan centre-back and settled into the net.
The Bagan fortress suddenly appeared to be getting reduced to rubble. And they reacted with their trademark fighting spirit. Colaco's shot ricocheted off the crosspiece and Thapa found the target in the following move. Sibille then effected a goalline save, denying Maclaren and Gill had to deal with a Rai threat with utmost alacrity.
Eventually, East Bengal defence stood firm and sealed the deal.
DURAND CUP (Quarterfinal Results)
Jamshedpur FC 0 Diamond Harbour FC 2 (Rautkima 3, 40); Mohun Bagan SG 1 (Thapa 68) East Bengal FC 2 (Diamantakos 38-pen, 52).
Semifinal fixtures
Aug 19 (Shillong): Shillong Lajong vs NorthEast United FC
Aug 20 (Kolkata): Diamond Harbour FC vs East Bengal.
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