East Bengal banked on Laldanmawia Ralte’s brace and a spectacular overhead volley from Jobby Justin to register a 3-2 win over archrival Mohun Bagan in an absorbing I-League clash at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.
The victory moved East Bengal to the fifth spot with 12 points from seven games, while Bagan remained eighth with nine points from as many games.
The first Kolkata Derby of the I-League season saw Bagan take the lead in the 13th minute before Laldanmawia restored parity three minutes later.
East Bengal made a spectacular comeback, scoring two goals to lead 3-1 by the 62nd minute. Bagan was reduced to 10 men by the hour-mark when captain Kingsley Eze was sent off for a second yellow, but managed to reduce the deficit when Dipanda Dicka pulled one back in the final quarter.
End-to-end action
The match was fiercely contested from the get-go and witnessed end-to-end action as both sides opted to play an open game.
Bagan utilised a well-crafted counter-attacking move to find the breakthrough in the 13th minute through Azharuddin Mallick.
East Bengal, which introduced Spanish forward Jaime Santos, regrouped quickly and restored parity in the 17th minute when Laldanmawia coolly converted off an assist from Justin.
It went on to take the lead in the 44th minute when Justin found the target off a spectacular overhead kick. Laldanmawia received the ball in the box and nodded it in Justin’s path and the latter did the rest.
Greater intensity
The change of ends saw East Bengal attack with greater intensity and exploit cracks in the Bagan defence. Bagan skipper Kingsley Eze received the marching orders in the 60th minute when he hacked down Justin on the edge of the box.
East Bengal added salt to Bagan’s wounds as Laldanmawia scored his second goal of the match. The 25-year-old slotted home Lalrindika Ralte’s free-kick to extend his side’s lead to 3-1, but Dicka made it 3-2 in the 75th minute to keep the contest alive.
But it proved too little too late as East Bengal held on to record its first Kolkata Derby win since 2016.
The result:
East Bengal 3 (Laldanmawia Ralte 17, 61, Jobby Justin 44) bt Mohun Bagan 2 (Azharuddin Mallick 13, Aser Dipanda Dicka 75).
