East Bengal FC defeated Mohun Bagan SG 1-0 in Group A match of Durand Cup at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Saturday. The win took the Red & Gold Brigade to 4 points from two matches. Earlier EBFC drew with Bangladesh Army 2-2. MBCG is leading the table with 6 points from three matches. EBFC will next face Punjab FC in must win match on August 16 to ensure knockout berth of Durand Cup.
The win for East Bengal is also the first derby victory since January 2019.
Nandhakumar Sekar, Man of the Match, scored the all-important goal in 60′.
Carles Cuadrat, East Bengal’s new coach, drilled one thing into his players’ heads. Do not get intimidated by the big names of Bagan and The Red & Gold Brigade stood up to the challenge to give joy to the fans after 1657 days.
However, East Bengal FC still holds the record of unbeaten in 14 derbies in 1970s.
East Bengal was unbeaten in 14 Derbies for 1836 days from 25.12.69 to 05.01.75, while Mohun Bagan was unbeaten in 8 Derbies for 1657 days from 19.01.20 to 25.02.23.
East Bengal FC Starting XI:
Gill, Khabra, Nunga, Elsey, Mandar, Souvik, Saul, Borja CJ, Mahesh, Nandhkumar, Siverio
Picture Courtesy: East Bengal FC Twitter
