26th January 2016 – Kolkata, India – DSK Shivajians lost 1-0 to Kingfisher East Bengal in a thrilling encounter, which saw plenty of attacking football from both the sides. The match, played at the Barasat Stadium, saw the Kolkata-based side knick the victory with a sole goal in the first half.
The match started with both teams trying to gain an upper hand in the center of the pitch, as they passed the ball around. The first real chance came in the 8th minute when Hakku, of DSK Shivajians, was booked for a challenge from behind on Ranti Martins. Do Donghyun’s free kick from outside the box was denied by an acrobatic save from Subrata Paul in goal.
Subrata Paul made it two saves in a row, when in 11th minute, he denied Martins a goal by getting slightest of touches to send the ball wide. The DSK Shivajians’ custodian also punched away the ball from the following corner to keep the scores at 0-0.
DSK Shivajians responded immediately with a free-kick of their own after Perrick was brought down right outside the box. Rehenesh pulled a fingertip save to deny Douhou, who took the free-kick.
East Bengal kept most of the ball for the next few minutes as in the 25th minute, against the run of play, Perrick broke into the opponent’s half but his shot from outside the box was blocked by the defender.
The home team broke the deadlock in the 29th minute after a corner, from which Subrata Paul made a save from a Rafique shot, only for Ranti Martins to pounce on the lose ball and tap it into the back of empty net.
DSK Shivajians’ tried to hit back immediately, in the 32nd minute, as a corner from Douhou was not successfully collected by Rehenesh, as the follow-up shot from Rafi was blocked.
In the 40th minute, Mehtab ran at goal, but Subrata Paul came forward to deny him a goal and keep the score at 1-0, going into half-time.
The second half saw East Bengal dominate the early possession. However, the first real threat of the half was Do Donghyun, who was clear on the goal with only the keeper in between, but his shot was just wide.
In the 65th minute, Perrick broke clear as DSK Shivajians started a counter attack. However, he tried to find a teammate instead of taking a shot as he entered the box, an attempt which rolled the ball out of play for a goal kick.
70th minute of the match saw debutant Hakku made a strong clearance, after a Bikash shot was deflected towards goal. Against the run of play, in the 74th minute, Sena delivered a long freekick, which was inches away from Hakku and Perrick’s head, both of whom were in the clear and behind the defence.
75th minute saw a Rafique pass deflected by the East Bengal defence hit the bar on its way out. This could have been an own goal, which would have brought DSK Shivajians level. Moments later, in his last action of the match, Douhou took a shot from outside the box, which was inches above goal, before he was replaced by Indrajit.
In the 89th minute, Melvin Lobo made an impulsive clearance, after East Bengal entered deep in the DSK Shivajians’ territory. The home team was not able to make much of the following corner.
The match ended 1-0 to Kingfisher East Bengal, as DSK Shivajians wait on their first victory in the Hero I-League. The Pune-based club will now welcome last year’s champions, Mohun Bagan, to Pune for their first home match on 30th January 2016.
