Kaith twin saves seal Bagan's dramatic comeback win vs Bengaluru, face NEUFC in Durand final

Kolkata, Aug 27 (PTI) Vishal Kaith's twin saves in the tiebreaker helped defending champions Mohun Bagan make a splendid comeback from two goals down to edge star-studded Bengaluru FC 4-3 (2-2 after full-time) to reach the Durand Cup final for a record 30th time here on Tuesday.

After an intense shooting in the tiebreaker where both teams were locked three-all, a composed Kaith thwarted the strikes of Halicharan Narzary and Aleksandar Jovaovic to seal the match.

The record 17-time champions Mohun Bagan will face NorthEast United FC in the summit clash here on Saturday.

Jason Cummings, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco and Dimitri Petratos, who stood-in as skipper after Subahsish Bose's 30th minute injury, struck the other four goals in the tie-breaker.

Bengaluru FC's three strikes came from Edgar Mendez, Rahul Bheke and Pedro Capo.

Bengaluru earlier went ahead through goals by legendary Sunil Chhetri (42nd) and youngster Vinith Venkatesh (50th).

Bagan made spirited comeback through Dimitri Petratos (68th), and Anirudh Thapa (84th).

On a day when Howrah and the western part of the metropolis turned into a 'war zone' due to clashes between police and protesters over the rape and murder case at the RG Kar Medical College, normalcy returned to Salt Lake Stadium as Bagan finally got to play at the venue.

However, there was significant disappointment for the 20,000-odd fans who managed to reach the stadium despite the clashes, as Bengaluru led by two goals for more than an hour.

The talismanic Chhetri made his first start of the ongoing Durand Cup as Bengaluru made two changes, while Bagan made six changes with Sahal Abdul Samad leading the attack, supported by Petratos and Cummings.

The former India captain was quick into the action in the 13th minute when he broke through after a defensive error near the halfway line but he struggled to control the ball and was eventually blocked in their first opportunity of the match.

Mohun Bagan also received a setback when their captain and defensive mainstay Subhasish had to be substituted with an injury.

Bengaluru tried to make an early dent and were awarded a penalty in the 41st minute after the promising Vinith was brought down by Colaco as Chhetri added another goal to his tally with his consummate strike from the spot.

It woke up Bagan from the slumber as they made a flurry of attacks with the clock nearing halftime.

There were a couple of chances within a minute. First it was Colaco's shot that came off the bar and then Alberto Noguera's towering header hitting the woodwork.

A defensive lapse from Bagan allowed Jorge Pereyra Diaz to get through with the goalkeeper out of his place. Diaz played it to Vinith, who calmly slotted the ball into the empty net to double the lead.

Manvir Singh was fouled with a pull from the back inside the box to be awarded a penalty in the 66th minute that finally turned around Bagan's fortunes.

Petratos' powerful right-footed hit from the spot reduced Mohun Bagan's deficit by one goal as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu dived the wrong way.

After a cleared corner, Thapa unleashed a powerful right-footed strike that flew into the corner of the net before Sandhu could react to restore parity just five minutes before the final whistle.

With widespread protests in the city, the Durand Cup derby match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal here was earlier abandoned.

Despite the abandonment protests were seen near the Saltlake Stadium on the scheduled day of the derby.

The organisers shifted the quarterfinals featuring East Bengal and Bagan out of the city while hinting that semifinals and final would also be relocated.

But after requests from the three clubs, the organisers retained the semifinal here.

VICTORY CELEBRATION WITH RG KAR TIFO =================================== The Mohun Bagan fans under 'Mariners Arena' banner at the opposite end of the dug-out were seen celebrating the win by displaying a huge tifo to protest the RG Kar victim.

'Amader Boner Bichar Chay', read the giant tifo as the Kolkata High Court had allowed it in the match.

Earlier, the local authorities had banned spectators from bringing in certain items, such as tifo displays, drums, smoke candles, or any flammable materials. PTI TAP UNG TAP 7/21/2024