Lalchungnunga, Saul Crespo, Bipin Singh, Dimitrios Diamantakos, and Mahesh Singh scored a goal each as 16-time champion East Bengal SC scored five unanswered goals to ease past debutants South United FC.
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KOLKATA — Lalchungnunga, Saul Crespo, Bipin Singh, Dimitrios Diamantakos, and Mahesh Singh scored a goal each as 16-time champion East Bengal SC scored five unanswered goals to ease past debutants South United FC in the Group A encounter of the 134th Durand Cup, here on Wednesday.
The win in the match played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday secured all three points for the Kolkata giants.
East Bengal Head Coach Oscar Bruzon named his playing eleven in a 4-2-3-1 formation, giving debuts to new signings Martand Raina and Mohammad Rashid while David Lalhlansanga started up front with P.V. Vishnu and Naorem Mahesh Singh providing support from the wings along with Saul Crespo and Edmund Lalrindika in the centre.
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Anwar Ali, Lalchungnunga, and Mohammed Rakip manned the defence with the experienced Debjit Majumder in goal. South United FC started in a 4-3-3 formation with Captain S. Noel leading the defence, and junior international Makakmayum Daniyal started as the lone forward for the debutants.
It was one-way traffic in the first half, with East Bengal showcasing their technical superiority against the young and inexperienced side from Bengaluru. The 16-time champions held the major share of possession with South United defending deep inside their own half. It took them just 12 minutes to take the lead through Lalchungnunga.
SUFC skipper Noel’s headed clearance fell into the path of Chungnunga, who slammed into the top corner to give his side the lead. They doubled the lead in the 36th minute through a penalty conversion by Saul Crespo after Edmund Lalrindika was brought down in the box by 17-year-old left-back Abdul Salha.
The half-time score could have looked a lot different if East Bengal had converted their chances, with P.V. Vishnu hitting the post twice and Saul Crespo missing three free headers. SUFC, at times, defended with seven players inside their own box, creating chaos, but were lucky not to concede more than two goals at halftime. SUFC goalkeeper S. Nishanth also helped in the cause, making a couple of good saves.
East Bengal started the second half from where they left the first, attacking on every possible opportunity, but SUFC defended resiliently, restricting space for the opposition. David Hmar, Mohammad Rashid, and Mahesh Singh came close during this period of time with their efforts.
The third goal came in the 80th minute with two substitutes combining to convert a sweeping move. Diamantakos' clever through pass between two defenders found Bipin Singh, whose first-time curling effort found the net through the hands of the goalkeeper. Diamantakos then went on to score the fourth for East Bengal, converting a free kick from the edge of the box, which trickled into the net after the goalkeeper could not gather the ball, which was straight at him.
East Bengal then went on to score a fifth in the 90th minute with skipper Mahesh Singh expertly finding the top corner with his weaker right foot to complete a five-star performance.
ISL side Jamshedpur FC will face Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army FC at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur as the Jamshedpur leg of the tournament will kick off on Thursday.