Calcutta: The under-19 Derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan in the IFA Shield final wasn’t short of drama and excitement at the Barasat Stadium on Thursday. After a 1-1 draw at the end of regulation and extra-time, East Bengal won 4-2 via the tie-breaker.
On a day of intense heat and humidity that forced the referee to order for drinks break every 15 minutes, East Bengal were certainly the superior team for most of the 120 minutes of play. A goal against the run of play by Sourav Das early in the second session put Mohun Bagan ahead but East Bengal equalised six minutes before the scheduled regulation time following a blunder by goalie Asanja Daimary.
The Mohun Bagan goalkeeper made a faulty collection, following a long ranger from Dip Saha, as the ball slipped through his hands and crossed the goalline much to the amusement of the East Bengal players and fans. As Mohun Bagan coach Jo Paul Ancheri admitted later, the players were demoralised by the sudden turn of events.
“Hard luck,” was how Ancheri described the outcome after the match. “The goalkeeper made a silly mistake and that demoralised the players. But East Bengal certainly played better and their players adapted well to the trying conditions.”
East Bengal captain Jhantu Prasad said the team was always confident of victory. “We were always confident that we would win despite of conceding a goal. It was a matter of putting in the effort,” said Jhantu.
Mohun Bagan brought in substitute goalkeeper Avijit Debnath during the tiebreaker but that didn’t pay dividends.
Bagan missed the first two attempts during the shootout and that proved to be decisive. For East Bengal, Jhantu, Lalcchanhima, PC Rohlupuia and Dip scored from the spot while Subhanil Ghosh’s shot was saved by the goalie.
East Bengal registered their 29th IFA Shield title, their first since the tournament has been restricted to U-19 players. They last won the title in 2011.
East Bengal could have won within the regulation time had their players not squandered several gilt-edged opportunities. Jhantu and Saurav Mondal were the worst offenders.
Mohun Bagan started the match with a flurry of chances through Subha Ghosh from the left flank. Bagan could have taken the lead in the 21st minute but Didwm Hazowary’s curling ball was only half-heartedly headed by Asif Ali Molla.
East Bengal gradually started to wrest control but were undone by lack of creativity in the attacking third. While Mohun Bagan relied on counter attacks, East Bengal’s attacks revolved Jhantu and Saurav with Gurmukh Singh providing support on overlaps.
“We should have won within 90 minutes… We couldn’t play to potential in the second half,” said East Bengal coach Ranjan Chowdhury. “Anyway the players had a good experience, something that will help them. These players had no experience of participating in a derby… The pressure from outside — spectators, club officials… It’s a challenging atmosphere and I’m happy the players delivered.”
IFA SHIELD FINAL
