In a thrilling semi-final clash of the 133rd Durand Cup at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Mohun Bagan SG edged past Bengaluru FC in a nerve-wracking penalty shootout to book their spot in the Durand Cup final after making a comeback from 2-0 down. The match ended 2-2 after regular time, but it was Mohun Bagan who held their nerve in the shootout, emerging victorious with a 4-3 scoreline. Molina’s side have to thank the heroics of their goalkeeper Vishal Kaith, who saved the last two penalty kicks of Bengaluru.
Jose Molina made six changes from the last encounter against Punjab, with Petratos, Cummings, Apuia, Thapa, Bose, and Manvir coming back into the side. Likewise, Gerard Zaragoza preferred starting Sunil Chhetri and Vinith Venkatesh, with Sivasakthi Narayanan and Shivaldo on the bench.
The match kicked off with both teams demonstrating a cautious approach, aware of the stakes. Mohun Bagan, with their passionate home support, started on the front foot, trying to unsettle the Bengaluru defense with counter-attacks. The Blues, known for their structured play, held their ground and looked to play quick passing football.
In the first ten minutes, there was nothing much to say about both teams. However, in the 13th minute, Sunil Chhetri received a through ball from the midfield and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but a crucial tackle from Alberto Rodriguez denied him from scoring. The ball fell to Alberto Noguera, who went down inside the box and appealed for a penalty, but the referee didn’t heed him.
After the end of the first quarter, both teams tried to slow down the game. In the 22nd minute, Sahal Abdul Samad tried to run with the ball, and Nikhil Poojary clashed with him as the last man of the defense. Sahal fell down, but the referee didn’t blow the whistle, despite protests from Sahal and other Bagan players.
In the 25th minute, The Mariners’ captain Subhasish Bose was substituted due to a knee injury, with Dippendu replacing him. After a few minutes, Bengaluru got the first corner of the match, but Rahul Bheke’s header went way over the bar. After that, Bagan took control of the game and earned two quick free kicks outside the box, but they failed to convert them into goals.
In the 41st minute of the match, Bengaluru FC was awarded a penalty as Liston Colaco brought down Vinith Venkatesh at the edge of the box. Sunil Chhetri converted the penalty to give his team a crucial lead in the knockout match.
After conceding the goal, Mohun Bagan was desperate to equalize and went on an all-out attack before the end of the first half. Within a minute, Liston Colaco’s shot and Alberto’s header hit the post, and Cummings’ shot went just wide. The first half ended with a 1-0 score in favor of Bengaluru FC.
In the second half, both teams entered the field with a determination to win the game. Molina’s side, who ended the first half on a high note, started the second half a bit slowly. Within a few minutes of the second half, Vinith received a ball and passed it to Noguera, who took a poor shot. After that, Jorge Pereyra Díaz received a free ball from Apuia’s mistake, dribbled past Vishal, and passed the ball to Vinith, who put it into an open net. Bengaluru’s lead doubled within the 7th minute of the second half, and they were in the driver’s seat of the match.
After trailing 2-0, Mohun Bagan coach Molina made a double substitution, with Greg Stewart and Asish Rai replacing Tom Aldred and Sahal. After gaining a 2-0 lead, Zaragoza didn’t want to take risks, so he substituted both Jorge Pereyra Díaz and Sunil Chhetri with Edgar Méndez and Shivaldo. But this decision backfired and helped Bagan get back into the game.
In the 60th minute, Gurpreet made a mistake while clearing the ball, but Greg Stewart missed a golden chance as his header went wide. Within a few minutes, Liston Colaco went down inside the box, but the touch was too little to give a penalty. In the 68th minute of the match, Rahul Bheke pulled the jersey of Manvir Singh inside the box, and the referee awarded a penalty to Mohun Bagan. Petratos converted this into a goal, narrowing down Bengaluru’s lead.
After conceding the goal, Zaragoza’s side got a free kick outside the box, but Vishal Kaith made a quick save and denied them from scoring their third goal. In the 78th minute, Bengaluru FC’s coach decided to strengthen his defense further, bringing in Sana Singh in place of Suresh, and Mohun Bagan SG also made a substitution, with Abhishek Suryavanshi replacing Apuia.
In the final quarter, Mohun Bagan launched a flurry of attacks but failed to find the back of the net. However in the 84th minute of the match, Anirudh Thapa made it 2-2 for Mohun Bagan with an absolute screamer. Thapa received a cleared corner at his feet while standing way back out of the penalty box and decided to take a volley with his right foot. The volley went straight into the bottom left corner of the net.
In added time, both teams made some attacks, but they were not good enough to take the lead. In the 94th minute, Dippendu received a yellow card for a rough tackle on Shivaldo. The match ended 2-2. With both teams level, the final minutes of regular time were tense, with chances for both sides but no breakthrough. As per Durand Cup rules, the match went straight to a penalty shootout, instead of extra time.
In the shootout, Mohun Bagan showed composure, with Cummings, Manvir, Liston, and Dimitri Petratos successfully converting their penalties. Bengaluru FC’s Edgar Méndez, Bheke, and Pedro Capo also scored. However, Halicharan Narzary’s miss, brilliantly saved by Vishal Kaith, tilted the balance in Bagan’s favor. Despite a save from Gurpreet to deny Stewart, Kaith’s save Aleksandar Jovanovic’s final shot to seal the victory for The Mariners.
With this hard-fought victory, Mohun Bagan secured a place in the Durand Cup final, where they will face NorthEast United FC on the 31st of August. For NorthEast , this marks their first appearance in a major tournament final, while Bagan will be looking to win the prestigious trophy for the second consecutive year.
Follow IFTWC for more updates on Indian Football.
