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Bathed in years of misery, soaked in tears of agony, and recrafted by hunger to conquer the unfathomable, East Bengal FC clinched their first silverware in 12 years after besting hosts Odisha FC in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 on Sunday.
In a drama-filled encounter that encompassed every possible emotion known to mankind, Diego Mauricio gave the Juggernauts the lead in the first half. But EBFC's recharged showing in the second 45 minutes left Odisha stunned as Nandhakumar Sekar and Saul Crespo made it 2-1 with two quickfire goals. The writing of the hosts' downfall was seemingly on the wall, but Ahmed Jahouh, with the final kick of the ball in regulation time, restored parity from the spot.
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When it seemed like it was another night of heartbreak that East Bengal fans had gotten so accustomed to, Cleiton Silva, with his gargantuan might and heart, put the away side ahead in the second half of extra time. Marshaled on by the towering personality of Carles Cuadrat, the players couldn't even dare to let the victory slip yet again.
In the build-up to the clash, the narrative was set perfectly for the finale with both sides nurturing their respective unbeaten records. Carles Cuadrat slightly altered his lineup from the semi-final with Borja Herrera, who was returning from a suspension, and Mandar Rao Desai replacing Vishnu PV and Nishu Kumar. Meanwhile, Odisha stuck to the philosophy 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.
Rallied on by the rampant away supporters, East Bengal were on the offensive immediately. The first effort on target came from Nandhakumar Sekar after the winger latched on to a deflected cross from outside the box and unleashed a timid effort. Mawia Ralte calmly gobbled it up and thwarted the danger.
The Juggernauts, who had more often than not been accustomed to dictating the terms of the play, did so for the entirety of the first quarter. Sergio Lobera's men resorted to hitting the away outfit on the break and Roy Krishna's venomous strike from a distance crawled narrowly wide of the target. While teams usually resort to a more conservative approach in a cup finale, the match panned out differently. An East Bengal setpiece routine in the 32nd minute threatened the Odisha clean sheet when Jose Antonio Pardo's thunderous strike traveled goalwards. Mawia Ralte parried away the ball with an acrobatic dive to maintain parity.
Minutes later, a Cleiton Silva freekick was nudged toward Mawia's goal by Javier Siverio, however, the 31-year-old pulled off another stunning save. The quickfire saves left East Bengal visibly frustrated and forced a momentary lapse out of the Red and Gold Brigade. Their backline botched up a regulation clearance and Diego Mauricio was perfectly placed to bury home the rebound at the second post.
Home fans erupted as the Kalinga Warriors took the lead despite lacking attacking panache for most parts. Despite creating some clear-cut scoring opportunities, the Torchbearers trailed at halftime owing to Mawia's heroics.
Ahmed Jahouh's late second-half penalty pushes the game into extra time
As the second half kicked off, the task ahead for East Bengal was simplified. There was no equation of maintaining the lead or managing the game. They were trailing by a fine margin, and with nothing to lose, Cuadrat rallied his men forward. Without wasting a minute, Naorem Mahesh Singh, who had just returned from international duty, was brought on in place of Siverio.
Mahesh is electric. He has always been since he rediscovered his form at East Bengal and tonight Odisha almost immediately bore the brunt of his enviable quality. The winger made a marauding run into the opposition half before laying it off for his partner-in-crime Nandhakumar Sekar. The former Odisha man, galloping, skipped past a defender, then the helpless goalie, and calmly slotted the ball into the open net in the 52nd minute.
The parity had been restored, the East Bengal hearts had once again started beating, and hope was brewing deep within. And when Nandha was brought down inside the penalty box seven minutes later, Cuadrat prayed his prayers would be answered. While the referee waived off the penalty call, the replays highlighted the erroneous call.
But within a minute, the referee dished out another contentious decision as he pointed to the spot when Borja went down inside the penalty box. While the Torchbearers had an opportunity to pull ahead robbed earlier, they were unfairly gifted a penalty moments later. Saul Crespo stepped up to take the penalty and rolled it into the net after deceiving the OFC shot-stopper.
More misery awaited Odisha as their towering center-back, Mourtada Fall, was given the marching orders for accumulating a second yellow on the night for an elbow on Borja. Down to 10 men, the Juggernauts were heading towards a harrowing loss in front of their home fans.
Brought on as a second-half substitute, Vishnu PV found himself at the end of a couple of half-chances but his lack of composure shone through. Cuadrat was forced to bring him off as the Spaniard gauged the palpating tension fencing in. The Red and Gold Brigade needed a goal to kill the tie, but the wastefulness blocked their approach.
The fourth official signaled seven minutes of additional time and that's all the Juggernauts were left with to crawl back into the tie. Meanwhile, the victory chants had already started roaring in the away stands. But a moment of madness from the EBFC backline saw Mauricio running clear through on goal in the 97th minute. Their final guardian angel, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, raced out in an attempt to clear the ball but could only bring down the Brazilian.
The referee pointed to the spot, and the home fans erupted, as the defending champions were presented an opportunity to keep their title hopes alive. Ahmed Jahouh, with the most audacious panenka penalty, made it 2-2 after the end of regulation time.
Captain Cleiton delivers Kalinga Super Cup to East Bengal with his crucial extra-time strike
After conceding the late, very late goal with the final kick of regulation time, East Bengal were bleeding away the momentum they had built throughout the second half. Souvik Chakraborty collected his second yellow card of the night and was given the marching orders in the 95th minute.
But Cuadrat had his sight on just a single result. He wasn't ready to wait around for the penalties and brought on Suhair VP in the second half of extra time. The hunger and incessant pressing from the Torchbearers forced an unlikely error out of Mawia, who had been exceptional throughout the night.
A wild hoove from the keeper left Narender Gahlot unsettled and Cleiton picked his pocket inside the opposition box. The Brazilian talisman, as he had delivered in the past, squeezed the ball into the bottom-right corner and reclaimed the elusive lead.
While the players soaked in the euphoria, Cuadrat ordered caution as his men had let the victory slip once. And they delivered. Professional as ever, compact as ever, East Bengal strolled past the hosts in the final few moments to seize their long-awaited dream. A trophy to add to the glittering cabinet is only half of what East Bengal earned on the night, but after a prolonged hiatus, the club can now announce its arrival at the continental level.
