Had East Bengal fans been told before the match that they would get a draw against Mohun Bagan in the Durand Cup encounter, many would have settled for it. What the underdogs got in the end might have exceeded expectations — a first win against their archrivals since January 2019.
Nandha Kumar became the darling of the East Bengal crowd in the 60th minute when he ran through the length of the Mohun Bagan half, and switched the ball from his right foot to left to wrong-foot defender Avinash Thapa, before unleashing a curler to the far corner which gave goalkeeper Vishal Kaith no chance.
The goal was as stunning as the result. East Bengal’s 1-0 win made things interesting in Group A. But their fans might not care, at least for a day or two, about what happens next. After suffering eight straight defeats against Mohun Bagan, this was the day they were waiting for. Beating a well-settled unit which won the Indian Super League last season with a new-look team under a new coach made the effort more commendable.
Carles Cuadrat, the East Bengal coach who will absolutely not mind the booking he received, played according to his strengths and limitations. They gave Mohun Bagan more of the ball in the beginning and not much room to make that possession count. They didn’t press very high, but didn’t defend too deep either.
Even if it meant they had to rely on counterattacks without too many legs upfront, they kept things tight at the back, played close to each other in the middle and held shape. The goal was the result of a breakaway move.
Despite looking more organised in the early exchanges and having 11 shots on goal compared to East Bengal’s two, Mohun Bagan were unable to break down the defence. Neither could coach Juan Ferrando’s boys make much headway through the packed midfield. Hugo Boumous found himself in a good position just outside the box in the 21st minute, but shot just wide instead of passing the ball to a teammate waiting on the right.
Mohun Bagan’s best chance of the first half came in the 34th minute when Manvir Singh released Ashish Rai inside the box. Rai did not have the best of angles to shoot from, yet had just the goalkeeper to beat. He ended up blowing his shot and Mohun Bagan’s hopes way above the horizontal. In general, his team found the going difficult inside the rival half.
Ferrando reinforced his attack in the 57th minute by bringing in last year’s hero, Dimitrios Petratos, and Australia’s 2022 World Cupper, Jason Cummings. The introduction of Sahal Abdul Samad too added sting to Mohun Bagan’s activities. Samad’s clever pass found Cummings inside the box in the 69th minute but the left-footer sailed high. The player born in Scotland got another chance in the 81st minute and this time, he tried in vain for glory rather than finding a teammate.
Mohun Bagan kept up the pressure, and it intensified with the rain that lashed Salt Lake Stadium for the last few minutes, when East Bengal were forced to defend from right in front of the box. Anwar Ali, who was outstanding in the Mohun Bagan defence, got a header off a corner kick in the dying moments. His flicked effort went out. That ended the Mohun Bagan challenge for the day. It was also a day, as East Bengal fans would like to believe, that marked a new beginning.