East Bengal edge out Mohammedan Sporting to retain CFL

It is the Red and Gold's record seventh regional crown..

East Bengal beat Mohammedan SC by a goal from Do-Dong Hyun(72') through a penalty to clinch the Calcutta Football League title for the seventh consecutive time on the trot. East Bengal began with their usual formation of 4-4-2 with Samad and Rahul Bheke switching to the right wing and right wing-back position. Mohammedan SC too started with a 4-4-2 formation with leonce Dodoz and Manvir Singh in the attack and Lancine Toure leading the defense. In the opening fifteen minutes of the match both teams could have scored a goal each if their shots would not have missed the target. In the 9th minute, East Bengal winger Dika's shot missed the target by a whisker while in the 13th minute, Mohammedan's Dipendu Dowary's corner was cleared by East Bengal custodian Dibyendu Sarkar. The next fifteen minutes saw a total poor display of football from both the sides as both teams showed an exhibition of missed passes in their zone. It was senior pro Mehtab Hossain for rge Red and Gold brigade and Dipendu Dowary for the Black Panthers who took the workload. In the mean time. East Bengal still had 53% ball possession while the Black panthers had 47%. In the last 15 minutes of the first half, the scoreline remained goalless and the missed passes from both teams continued. Dodoz missed a sitter in the 43rd minute while Jiten Murmu was fouled by Mumtaz Akhtar. East Bengal was awarded a free-kick by referee Ajit Dutta but Mehtab missed the target by a distance. It was 0-0 at the end of the first half. The second half began with much more purpose. East Bengal had a brilliant chance after a sweeping move, but Mohammed Rafique’s tame effort was saved by the goalkeeper. Dodoz, tried to do all by himself with a couple of shots from distance, but the Mohammedan man could not hit the target. The deadlock was finally broken when James brought down Man of the match Lalrindika Ralte in the box. Du Dong-Hyun stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to give East Bengal the crucial lead in the 72nd minute. Mohammedan, then pressed hard, but East Bengal’s resolute defense with a whole lot of experience at the back held on to give them their 38th CFL championship. Mehtab Hossain and Gurwinder Singh are the sole survivors in the seven years East Bengal have lifted the CFL trophy. The Red & Gold Brigade have also broken their own record of consecutive CFL championships; with the previous best coming from 1970 to 1975, when they won it six times in a row. Picture Courtesy - Ajay Majumder ( THIF MEDIA )