Five memorable I-League goal fests at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium

Cornell Glen (no.9) scored a hattrick in Shillong Lajong’s 5-4 victory over Mohammedan Sporting

There haven’t been too many goal fests at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium in the I-League era (since 2007) but on Wednesday Shillong Lajong and Mohammedan Sporting produced a nine-goal thriller with the north-east club winning 5-4. Sportskeeda lists five previous memorable goal fests witnessed at the 120,000 capacity stadium. The list is in chronological order. Check it out in the next five pages

United SC 3-3 Air India (October 13 2009)

Subroto Bhattacharya’s United SC side came back from two goals down

United SC (called Chirag United back then) made a perfect start to the 2009-10 campaign as they had won their first two games and thus had the chance to go top with a win over Air India. The Kolkata club made the best possible start as Jayanta Sen gave them an early lead. They had plenty of chances to increase their advantage but were wasteful. Air India came back into the game as Dada Nabeel equalised and then just before the break ND Opara put them in front. Even in the second half, United SC dominated proceedings but conceded again after the interval following a long throw from Air India’s Uttam Singh with Opara getting his second. At 3-1 Subroto Bhattacharya’s side had a mountain to climb but they never gave up and some inspired substitutions played a big role in the comeback. Gouranga Dutta came off the bench to pull one back and from his corner Josimar made it 3-3. Neither team could find a winner with Air India earning a point despite being second best while United SC showed great resilience.

East Bengal 3-5 Mohun Bagan (October 25 2009)

Current East Bengal striker Edeh Chidi made history while playing for Mohun Bagan

Almost two weeks after that six-goal thriller, Kolkata’s Big Two played out one of the all-time great derbies which eventually had historical significance. From the very first minute it looked like a game where defences would struggle as an unmarked Nirmal Chhetri gave East Bengal the lead from a corner. But Mohun Bagan responded with three goals as Edeh Chidi bagged a brace and Manish Maithani scored the other. East Bengal’s defending was horrendous but Mohun Bagan’s backline was also charitable as they allowed Yusif Yakubu to net a quick-fire double and make it 3-3 at halftime. East Bengal coach Subhash Bhomick had the option to bring on Nigerian central defender Uga Okpara for his debut in the second half and improve the defence but that didn’t happen and Chidi scored just after the interval to become the second player after Bhaichung Bhutia to score a hattrick in this fixture. Midway through the second period Chidi surpassed Bhaichung by netting his fourth and Mohun Bagan scored five past their fierce rivals for the very first time. Their fans claimed that the revenge of losing 5-0 to East Bengal in the 1975 IFA Shield final had been taken.

United SC 3-5 Churchill Brothers (February 5 2011)

Kayne Vincent bagged a brace in this eight-goal thriller

Coming into this game, Churchill Brothers were still very much in the title mix and playing some entertaining football under Singapore coach Vincent Subhramaniam. United SC were placed mid-table and their defence looked shaky in the previous game which they won 4-2 against relegation-threatened ONGC. The Kolkata club’s defensive problems were evident in this match also with Japanese-origin Kiwi Kayne Vincent giving Churchill Brothers an early advantage. But it didn’t take long for United SC to restore parity as Junior Elijah made it 1-1. Jerry Zirsanga had a golden opportunity to put the hosts in front but his shot was saved by Arindam Bhattacharya. Churchill Brothers were without their talisman Odafa Okolie due to injury but still had plenty of quality and experience in the side with India international Steven Dias putting them back in front again. There were five goals in the second half with Australian-Liberian Boima Karpeh scoring the first to give the visitors a two-goal advantage. United SC fought back through goals from Shylo Malswamtluanga and Elijah but their defending didn’t improve as goals from Neto and Vincent earned the Goan side a memorable victory.

United SC 2-4 Dempo (April 3 2011)

The star pairing of Ranti Martins and Beto made the difference in this game

United SC played their third goal-fest of the season two months later against title-chasing Dempo. Armando Colaco’s side were the defending champions but had made a slow start to their title defence. However they came into this game in red-hot form having won six straight I-League fixtures. By contrast, United SC had managed just one win in six games. Dempo raced into an early lead thanks to a goalkeeping error from Somnath Khara who allowed a cross from Ranti Martins to go into the back of the net. Brazilian Beto made it 2-0 at the half-hour mark after converting a penalty. Dempo dropped their tempo towards the end of the half and United SC got back into the contest as Sankar Oraon made it 2-1. But Dempo raised their game again and restored the two-goal advantage through Peter Carvalho just before the interval. Dempo dominated the second half as well but failed to increase their lead and against the run of play the purple shirts pulled one back through India’s Sunil Chhetri, who converted a penalty. At 3-2, United suddenly had a bit of momentum but Ranti ensured a safe final ten minutes for Dempo by netting the fourth.

East Bengal 4-3 United Kerala (April 16 2012)

Trevor Morgan’s East Bengal side survived a scare

This was East Bengal’s second season under Trevor Morgan and the red-and-gold brigade needed a win to maintain their I-League title challenge. Viva Kerala, called Chirag United Kerala in this campaign, were fighting to stay up in the league. East Bengal had won their previous two I-League fixtures but were in action in the AFC Cup also so had to endure a lot of travelling. But they were still expected to win and Penn Orji put them in front. Tolgay Ozbey soon doubled their advantage as the Kolkata giants looked on course for a vital victory. But much to the surprise of the thousands at the Salt Lake Stadium, United Kerala’s Nigerian forward David Sunday struck a quick-fire double to bring the southern India club back in the game. Sunday completed the turnaround by making it 3-2 just after the halftime break as East Bengal’s title hopes look to be ending prematurely. However Tolgay soon got his second to make it 3-3 and Robin Singh finally settled the end-to-end contest by scoring the fourth. Despite the win, East Bengal finished runners-up while United Kerala were relegated after losing two of their final three fixtures.