East Bengal : Abhijit; Abhishek, Milan, Raju, Robert; Mama, Mehtab, Khabra, Ralte; Ranti, Dudu.
Mohun Bagan : Debjit; Pritam, Bello, Kingshuk, Dhanachandra; Katsumi, Bikramjit, Denson, Sony; Boya, Balwant.
The eventful Kolkata derby ended in an exciting 1-1 draw as both the giants shared the spoils in what can be termed as a satisfactory result for both.
The stadium was housefull as supporters of both the sides turned up in large numbers and the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying. The atmosphere spurred on the players as well. The game was absolutely thrilling in the first half when both the teams were going hammer and tongs at each other.
The first 10 minutes was the most thrilling part as it was end-to-end football at display. There was absolutely nothing to choose from as both the teams were playing at frantic pace. Bagan broke the deadlock with the help of their forward Pierre Boya. Katsumi Yusa’s delicious corner was sublimely converted by Boya to give the visitors lead against the run of play.
But the hosts bounced back from this early setback in style as Ranti Martins scored a peach of a header from the left flank. The half came close amidst both the teams looking inseparable in all departments.
The pace of the game dropped a bit in the second half East Bengal lost their captain Khabra as he was injured during the half time. The game spurned back to life in the 84th minute when Dudu appealed for a penalty.
The striker was in one-on-one with Debjit, only for the referee to pull playback for his high-foot on the latter.
Both the teams tried for that elusive winner in the last few minutes but none were successful as the first derby of Kolkata ended in an exciting draw.
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