East Bengal enters final

By Our Sports Reporter

KOLKATA, OCT. 6. Defending champion Kingfisher East Bengal extended its fine showing in the 107th IFA Shield football with a confident 2-1 win over arch-rival Mohun Bagan in the second semifinal here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday. The win placed East Bengal against Brazil's Palmeiras-B in the title clash which is scheduled on Sunday.

As a clash between the two city giants generally occasions, there was no dearth of action both with the ball and off it. The three goals apart, there was a glut of bookings and two ejections as an aftermath of the scathing battle between the two traditional enemies.

With visiting Palmeiras and Muktijoddha Sanshad - the losing team from Bangladesh in the Friday's semifinal - deciding it out with boots and blows to apparently relieve their taut nerves following a tensed encounter, the clash between the two local giants was bound to bring up some thing more than just a straight-forward game.

Joe Paul Anchery bulged the Mohun Bagan net twice to realise East Bengal's win and demonstrate why he is still the most valued footballer of the country. Known for his versatility as a player able to fit in all positions, Anchery played the role of a striker to the T, finishing two out of three opportunities he found in front of the opponent goal.

The first goal resulted from a sweet combination Anchery established with left-half Dipankar Roy in the first session. With Roy succeeded with his forays, Mohun Bagan right back Dulal Biswas could surely be charged with dereliction of duty allowing repeated passage to opponent winger.

One such foray through the left flank saw the diminutive midfielder trying out a variation that left the Bagan defence in shambles. Instead of essaying a cross - the usual practice of a wing-half - Roy set up a short through-pass inside the Bagan box. Anchery, effectively used his built in powering past his markers - Mohun Bagan stopper-backs Amauri Da Silva and Hussain Mustafi - receiving the pass and finished it with a left- footed flick past the Bagan goalkeeper Bivash Ghosh.

East Bengal enjoyed the lead till 75th minute and had all the reason to be satisfied with its showing till then. Despite having a majority of ball possession in the midfield, Mohun Bagan could not breach the East Bengal defence. The mascot of Mohun Bagan's fortunes - Brazilian striker Jose Barreto - found himself lonely without his regular partner Abdulatief Sereiki, who was serving a suspension. With the opponent defence concentrating on the Brazilian striker, Barreto opted to play withdrawn and leaving the mantle of attacking on his colleague R. C. Prakash. Prakash found at least two clear chances to score but delayed his shots on both occasions.

Unable to gain from the direct assault, Bagan advantaged from a set-piece situation when Barreto sent the ball home as the ball reached him following a corner by Renedy Singh in the 75th minute. With Ancheri high both in his resolve and fitness, Mohun Bagan's joy was cut short as the East Bengal striker capped a brilliant effort that regained the lead for the team in the 81st minute.

Ancheri's effort - that saw the striker receive a Omolaja Olalekan pass with back to the Bagan goal and dispatch the ball into the net with a half-volley executed on the turn - can very well labeled a masterpiece as he crafted out the goal from a seemingly disadvantageous position.

As the match approached its end, Barreto - apparently frustrated at his hardwork going in vain - and East Bengal's midfield substitute Chandan Das exchanged blows following a tackle in the 86th minute. Both the players were given marching order by referee S. M. Balu from Karnataka.

With almost whole of the East Bengal team deciding to withdraw in a protective mould, the scoreline was preserved in the remaining few minutes after the incident.

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Section  : Sport
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