Kolkata: East Bengal drew 1-1 against arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in a closely-fought Kolkata derby in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) Premier Division, on Monday. East Bengal’s reserve team went toe-to-toe with a Mohun Bagan side fielding several first team stars. Manvir Singh opened the scoring for Mohun Bagan in the 39th minute of the first half, helped by poor positioning East Bengal goalkeeper Gourab Shaw. In the second half, East Bengal wasted two open-goal chances, before substitute Mohammad Bilal headed in the equaliser from a corner, in the 64th minute. The result sees East Bengal top Group 1 unbeaten. Both sides had already progressed to the Super Six stage of the 2026-27 CFL.
With both teams already through to the Super Six, the match had little at stake, making Mohun Bagan’s failure to defeat East Bengal despite having the opportunity all the more surprising.
Seen as an opportunity to avenge their Durand Cup final defeat, the game slipped away as East Bengal’s fearless display, led by Vijay Murmu and Chaku Mandi, frustrated Mohun Bagan.
The draw saw East Bengal finish top of the group with 27 points from 11 matches, edging Bhawanipore on goal difference. Mohun Bagan finished third with 23 points from 11 games.
East Bengal fielded no first-team footballers, relying on Joy Baz, Mandi and Akash Hembram, while Mohun Bagan started multiple regulars, including Mehtab Singh, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Apuia, Sahal Abdul Samad and Manvir Singh.
Mohun Bagan dominated proceedings from the start. Sayan Banerjee cut in from the left early on and tried to launch an attack, but East Bengal managed to snuff out the danger.
East Bengal stayed compact at the back while looking to counter, as Manvir and Samad led Mohun Bagan’s attack.
Despite over 60% possession, Mohun Bagan struggled to breach East Bengal’s defence, with Gourav Sau denying Manvir in the 36th minute.
Kian Nassiri, who was charging forward, couldn’t get to the ball either.
Mohun Bagan took the lead in the 38th minute after a soft goal, with Manvir pouncing on a long ball despite Ankan Bhattacharya’s challenge.
With Gourav off his line, Manvir fired through Ankan’s legs and into the net. Mohun Bagan almost doubled their lead before half-time, but Sahal’s effort from Sayan’s pass was deflected wide for a corner.
Manotosh was forced off with an injury in the 53rd minute, with Bilal coming on as his replacement and adding energy to the East Bengal attack. The visitors soon created two opportunities to score but couldn’t capitalise on either.
A 56th-minute mix-up between Mehtab and Dipravat Ghosh left the goal exposed, but Akash’s hesitation allowed the former to recover and clear the ball off the line.
East Bengal’s pressure paid off as Bilal headed home Vijay’s corner to equalise. The goal gave East Bengal renewed impetus as they piled pressure on Mohun Bagan. Bilal later received a cross from Baz but couldn’t make the most of the chance as the game ended in a stalemate.
Brief Scorecard –
Mohun Bagan: 1 (Manvir Singh 39′)
East Bengal : 1 (Md Bilal 65′)
