Kolkata, July 25 — Sahal Abdul Samad’s second-half strike ensured Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over their archrivals East Bengal FC in the opening fixture of the 135th Durand Cup, which was played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday.

Antonio López Habas and Panagiotis Dilimperis both named all-Indian starting line-ups in their first matches in charge of their respective clubs. Defenders Anwar Ali for East Bengal and the experienced Subhasish Bose for Mohun Bagan Super Giant led their respective sides onto the pitch for the opening match of the season in front of a passionate and vocal crowd.

Mohun Bagan started the match on the front foot, making good use of the right flank through the pace of right-back Tekcham Abhishek Singh. Their first chance came in similar fashion as Abhishek delivered a curling cross towards the near post for Manvir Singh, whose glancing header found only the side netting.

Moments later, Abhishek delivered another teasing cross into the box, this time picking out Kiyan Nassiri, whose weak header was comfortably gathered by East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. Sahal Abdul Samad, who was at the heart of Mohun Bagan’s attacking play, also had two efforts on goal; the first was straight at the goalkeeper, while the second found the side netting.

The Mariners dominated possession for much of the first half but lacked the cutting edge in the final third, despite registering 10 attempts on goal compared to East Bengal’s two. The Red and Gold Brigade defended resolutely, with Anwar Ali and Sandip Mandi marshalling the backline to deny Mohun Bagan any clear-cut opportunities, as the two sides went into the break locked at 0-0.

The Mariners carried their momentum into the second half and broke the deadlock within seven minutes of the restart. Kiyan Nassiri dispossessed Rohit Danu inside the penalty area before drilling a low cross across the six-yard box. The ball found Sahal Abdul Samad at the back post, and the midfielder had the simplest of tasks to tap into an empty net.

Antonio Habas reacted to going down by bringing in Mohamad Rashid and P.V Vishnu to freshen up while going forward, while Dilimperis brought in new signing Dejan Dražić and defensive midfielder Deepak Tangri.

East Bengal sprang into life in search of an equaliser and began creating opportunities in the attacking third. Vishnu tested Vishal Kaith with a powerful low left-footed strike, but the goalkeeper got down well to make his first save of the game. The introduction of another new signing, Dani Ramírez, also injected new life into the attack line of East Bengal.

East Bengal started to create the better chances in the final quarter of the match as The Mariners were content to defend in numbers and play on the counter-attack. Lalchungnunga made a good run from the right wing and forced a save out of the goalkeeper. The defender was the first to react to the rebound, and he headed the ball onto the path of Mohamad Rashid, who could not make a good connection with the ball.

East Bengal created the better chances in the final quarter of the match as the Mariners dropped deep, defending in numbers and looking to hit on the counter-attack. Lalchungnunga made an incisive run down the right flank and forced a fine save from Vishal Kaith. The defender reacted quickest to the rebound and headed the ball back into the danger area, where Mohamad Rashid could not make clean contact with his effort, allowing Mohun Bagan to escape the danger.

East Bengal continued to pile the pressure on the Mohun Bagan defence, with almost the entirety of the closing stages being played in the Mariners' half. Jessin T.K. failed to time his jump well enough to direct his header on target, before Ramírez came agonisingly close to an equaliser, clipping the post after making a clever near-post run to meet Vishnu's cross.

Vishal Kaith once again proved to be the hero for the Mariners, producing a superb save to deny Mohamad Rashid’s acrobatic effort after the midfielder was picked out unmarked at the back post by Ramírez. From the resulting corner, Anwar Ali rose highest but could not keep his header on target.

In the end, Mohun Bagan held on to their slender one-goal advantage to begin the season with a hard-fought victory over their arch-rivals.

Tomorrow’s matches:

Jamshedpur FC vs Defenders FC, Sri Lanka, 5 PM, Birsa Munda Football Stadium, Ranchi

Indian Army FT vs Samaleswari Sporting, 7:30 PM, Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata

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135th Durand Cup: Mohun Bagan prevail over East Bengal in hard-fought opener