IFA Shield 2018, Final: East Bengal come back from brink of defeat to beat Mohun Bagan on penalties

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East Bengal U19 team after winning the IFA Shield

East Bengal continued their good run in youth football as they went past arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 4-2 in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 deadlock following extra time, to claim the IFA Shield after six years and for the 30th time.

The Western Stands in the Barasat Stadium were filled to the brim with more than 5,000 supporters divided in two factions to avoid potential violence between the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans.

The game kicked off on a slow note, with Mohun Bagan having a slight edge on the field with better play and passing among them in the first 15 minutes. Some half-hearted chances emerged for the Mariners, which they could not capitalise on. East Bengal resorted to patient possession play and started dictating terms as the game wore on.

The first real chance of the game for East Bengal came through Suranjit Singh in the 21st minute, as he went past couple of defenders, and pulled the trigger, aiming for the bottom left corner, only to miss the target by a few centimetres.

Lalcchanhima, also known as Tetepuia got important chances to give the Red and Golds the lead later in the half, but failed to execute the perfect first touch letting down the team on numerous occasions. The first half ended goalless with East Bengal looking slightly the better side.

Mohun Bagan drew first blood against all odds early in the second half. A long throw-in from the right was misjudged by the East Bengal defenders, allowing Saurav Das to bang it in the 48th Minute to send half of the stadium into dreamland and doom alike.

East Bengal pressed hard for the rest of the game but were unable to find the net on any occasion. The Red and Golds finally got their reward for pressure play late in the second half. Deep Saha's shot from distance was fumbled by Asanja Daimary and ended up in the back of the net in the 83rd minute.

The teams looked tired and the regulation period of 90 minutes came to a close with level pegging.

Extra-time had a minuscule goal-mouth action on both ends, ultimately leading to the dreaded penalty shootout.

The shootout ended the same way it began. East Bengal earned a 2-0 advantage from as many kicks. Mohun Bagan got back into the tie-breaker with few calm finishes, but the Red and Golds eventually prevailed in the tiebreaker with a 4-2 P.S.O score.

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Edited by Soumo Ghosh