PV Vishnu, Lachenpa power East Bengal past Indian Army to reach Durand Cup 2026 semifinal

Red & Gold will play against SC Delhi in the semifinal.

East Bengal FC edged past Indian Army FT in their Durand Cup quarter-final clash with a scoreline of 1-0, relying on a sole winning goal of PV Vishnu at the 38th minute, as the Red & Gold Brigade will now lock horns with SC Delhi, the capital of ISL, on August 19, 2026, at the Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.

East Bengal FC started the game at home with eight changes in their squad, allowing their three foreign players, Basim Rashid, Chris Ikonomidis & Dani Ramirez, to play for the first time in a Red & Gold jersey. Boris Singh, who joined the Torchbearers from FC Goa, and Narender Gahlot made their debut in this match, as former Mumbai City FC’s last line of defence, Phurba Lachenpa, was also in the goalpost.

PV Vishnu opened the deadlock

A great showcase of football in the first half from both sides, as East Bengal had the lead over Indian Army FT with one goal scored by PV Vishnu in the 38th minute, but the visitors attracted all the football fans’ eyes in the first 45 minutes with their resilience and discipline.

In the 6th minute of the play, East Bengal FC chased the goal as Dani Ramirez got a clear cut chance in front of the Army’s goal, but it was denied by Malla Thakuri, as talking about that occasion, PV Vishnu opened up and spread the play from the right wing position as he lofted the ball through to David Hmar when the Indian forward passed to Ramirez who missed the golden opportunity.

And just after a minute, Indian Army FT’s Pawar Abhishek Shankar had the best chance when he shot from a distance and made Lachenpa save Moshal Brigade’s day in the first 25 minutes of the game.

Both teams rose to their occasions; while Army FT played their best brand of football, they haunted East Bengal with their mid block as all the chances, the Army side also penetrated the opponents’ box multiple times with their attacking transitions.

But as expected, it’s the home ground for the defending ISL champions; they controlled the game in the last 15 minutes by dictating the tempo of the middle of the park, registered multiple shots and created an ample amount of chances from Chris Ikonomidis’ side. And knocking again and again from the left flank, they opened the scoreline as PV Vishnu scored the opening goal for the home side in the 38th minute of the game.

From the centre of the pitch, Dani Ramirez found Chris Ikonomidis, the new Australian winger who registered a goal against Manchester United once; he assisted PV Vishnu, who slotted the ball calmly to give the lead to his side.

A disciplined second half performance from Indian Army

Starting from the second phase of the match, East Bengal FC looked more into their attacking transitions as PV Vishnu was subbed off and Bipin Singh came from the bench to help the team overload the right half spaces and create chances for other forwards. Then Red & Gold made another two substitutions as Edmund Lalrindika and Jesin TK replaced tired legs of Chris Ikonomidis and David Hmar.

But the home side missed many chances from Jesin TK and Dani Ramirez’s end, within the game, Dani Ramirez had the best conversion chance in the 65th minute when he got a free ball, but instead of shooting, he lofted the ball wide of the goalpost.

And at the 79th minute of the play, Jesin TK, who despite not being a good fit for the Moshal Brigade missed a goal-scoring window and just after, Basim Rashid lofted a through ball towards Jesin’s foot, who had a tremendous run into the opponent’s D box, but Bipin Singh couldn’t finish the chance.

In the last additional five minutes, another strike from Pawar Shankar screamed another banger kind of a shot, but Phurba Lachenpa stood tall and saved the day for the Red & Gold and East Bengal FC has qualified for the Durand Cup Semi Finals as they will face SC Delhi on 19th August, 2026.

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