#2 East Bengal 5-0 Mohun Bagan (Final, IFA Shield, 1975)
Rivalries warrant paybacks and what better way than a thumping 5-0 win in football? East Bengal rocketed to the highest margin in a Kolkata derby in an IFA Shield final, in 1975. One of the most lop-sided matches in Indian football Finals’ history, this match saw East Bengal demolish their rivals in a way which would’ve even affected the mindsets of supporters, which it did, eventually.
East Bengal had won every trophy in India with remarkable ease in the 70’s and were undefeated in the derby from 1969 to 1975. Also, they were on the verge of setting the record for four consecutive Shield victories, and the stage was set for the cut-throat battle against their hardened rivals. If the last infamous derby had a share of keeper’s mistakes and winger’s genius, this one watermarked itself with goalkeeping errors by Bhaskar Ganguly.
The match began is swashbuckling fashion, with Surajit Sengupta opening the floodgates only after five minutes of game-play. An orthodox winger who loved to drop balls into the box for strikers, Surajit had been advised by Coach P.K. Banerjee to use his lightning speed to score goals, which he did in style. 6 minutes later, Shyam Thapa missed a penalty, but more was in store.
In the 24th minute, Thapa scored from Subhas Bhowmick’s cross, which was poorly spilled by Ganguly. The best goal of the match was scored by Ranjit Mukherjee in the 38th minute. After a swift interchange of passes between Sengupta, Thapa, and Bhowmick; Mukherjee outsmarted Bagan’s stopper Nimai Goswami and took an unstoppable shot to make it 3-0.
After the break, East Bengal didn’t look to be in a mood to stop. Bagan goalkeeper Bhaskar Ganguly looked slightly intimidated by the event and that flashed in his performance. Ganguly spilled a collectable drive from Surajit Sengupta, which was tapped in by Shyam Thapa in the 51st minute to make in 4-0. Prashanta Mitra replaced the custodian, but couldn’t prevent Subhankar Sanyal from making it 5-0 in the 84th minute. Record of Shield wins, record of highest winning derby margin and EB fans couldn’t have felt better.
On the other hand, it was heavy-bearing for the Mohun Bagan supporters. The club was mobbed by thousands, trees were set on fire, players were afraid to go out. Star footballers like Subrata Bhattacharya and Prasun Banerjee escaped the club house and spent the night in a boat on Ganges.
Such was the ignominy of this defeat that Mohun Bagan supporter Umakanta Paladhi committed suicide after the match. In his suicide note, he wrote that he would exact revenge as a Bagan player in his next birth. These incidents showed the passion and love the city and its people have for their endearing clubs.
