East Bengal 3-0 Railway FC, CFL 2017, As it happened

The first half saw East Bengal establish their dominion as Justin scored inside the first two minutes to give the defending champions a one goal lead heading into half time. They could have got more goals if they were more ruthless in front of goal. A comprehensive and overall performance added by Suhair's dual brace in the second half help the Red and Gold army to seal a comfortable 3-0 victory.

Railway FC, on the other hand, will have work to do as they are yet to win a match in the league

That's all for today folks!!

FULL TIME! East Bengal wins 3-0. Their fifth win on the trot, as they continue their march to the league title

Syrian footballer Al Amna adjudged Man of the Match for his impeccable contributions from the midfield

90+3 Railway makes their final splurge but fails to hit it on target. There's no more coming back as the defending champions find themselves on the verge of yet another comprehensive victory.

90+1 Vp Suhair finds himself in a one on one with the keeper but lays of to Hernandez who hits it directly to the hands of the keeper

90'- 3 extra minutes added on

89'- Railway FC pushing hard in the closing minutes of the game. But the defending champions are denying the visitors any space as they remain stuck in their own half

86'- Substitution
Final change for Railway FC. The visitors looking for some inspiration on the pitch as Mithun Saha goes out to make way for Saif Alimollah.

84' Substitution

Justin makes way for Gabriel Hernandez

81'- Goaaall!! East Bengal 3-0

Suhair scores his second goal the night from a beautiful pass from the edge of the box into an empty net. There looks bleak chances for the visitors and face a really uphill task if they are to manage any points from the game. It looks pretty much over for them

80-The Bengal strikers are coming in deep to take care of defensive responsibilities. Railway's win a corner but yet again, the set piece does not get them any result.

78'-Railway FC is trying to put the pressure on with their sporadic chances, but the defending champions are holding the back line brilliantly to deny them any goal.

75-Chance!!
Suhair comes really close to get on the scoresheet again. Tries to make a cheeky finish to the near post but couldn't fool the keeper.

73'- East Bengal is dominating the pace of the game and is enjoying playing possession. Railway playing on the counter.

68'- Railway FC makes their next change of the game as Dey goes out to make way for Manirul Mondal

67'- Goaaall!!!!
Suhair makes an impeccable finish off a rebound after the ball hits the post from Justin's back-fllick to give the defending champions their second goal. East Bengal now comfortably poised with the 2-goal cushion.

65' Surabuddin is looking lively ever since he came on, getting involved in consecutive attacks.

64' East Bengal makes their first change of the game just after the hour mark. Midfielder Brandon makes way for Surabuddin to come off.

63' Al Amna, Ralte and Brandon linking up beautifully in a triangle to create enough space for overlaps. However, the final ball is lacking

61'- Yellow card
Yet another irresponsible tackle from Railway's defender Abhishek Aich. Awards Bengal a set from a lucrative area. Al Amna makes an ambitious attempt but the ball takes a deflection to go for yet another corner. No end result

60' The Red and Gold army are dominating the second half until now but the opponents are not relenting and are looking to attack. Al Amna and Brandom putting constant pressure from the flanks to find the second goal for the defending champions

56'- Yellow card
Nasty tackle from Mithun Saha. Railway FC gets their first yellow of the game.

53- Al Amna displays brilliant skill in the corner of the penalty box to play a square pass to set up Ralte. Rana Chakraborty puts up an audacious save to award a corner to East Bengal.

52' East Bengal wins a corner. Couldn't capitalize yet again and gives Railway to break forward on the counter. Railway striker Samadyuti, however, hits it for goal but the ball sails past.

49' East Bengal have a spring in their step after the break as they surge forward. No end product though. Still stuck with the one goal scored by Justin

The second half is about to start now and we are off!

The referee blows the whistle for the half-time. East Bengal has already established their dominion with the early goal but needs to be more ruthless in the second half to kill the game. Railway FC has been creating chances as well but their final ball has been lacking. We will be back in live action in 15 minutes. Stay tuned.

45+3 Railway FC tries to make a late splurge and wins a set piece in the process. Nothing fruitful in the end

45+1' New substitute Rana Chakraborty makes an immediate after saving a shot from point blank range to award East Bengal a corner

43' Railway FC gets their first change underway just prior to the half time. A surprising move as goalkeeper Sudipta goes out to make way for Rana Chakraborty

42- Chance!!
Two consecutive chances
Sudipta charges down the box but misses the ball. Brandon lobs it into the net but the railway defense keeps the danger at bay.
Ralte then comes close to scoring again but suffers the same fate. East Bengal still stuck with their 1 goal lead

40' Al Amna takes the free kick after a couple of minutes of delay due to the ongoing melee on the pitch. Nothing fruitful comes out of the set-piece though

37'- Justin goes down right outside the box after being pulled down by Railway defense. Players get into a bit of a scuffle. Khalid Jamil trying to cool the situation from the headlines.

Bengal wins a free kick

34' East Bengal wins their first corner of the game, but Brandon sails the ball over the bar. Railways take a breather after consecutive threats from the defending champions.

33' Chance!!!
Railway FC comes really close to equalizing as lobbed shot from the midfield only to see the ball hit the woodwork.

32' Al Amna and Justin linking up for the umpteenth time in the match. Amna plays a brilliant through to the winger on the right of the box but a poor delivery sees the ball land in the hands of the keeper

30' East Bengal enjoying a one goal lead at the half-hour mark. They are creating frequent chances up front but need to be more clinical and ruthless if they have to add on to the scoresheet

23' The Red and Gold brigade has established their dominion early in the game and are currently looking poised with the one goal cushion. They are dominating the pace of the game, posing threat in regular intervals.

20' Railway FC is trying to break the barrier amidst a stern Bengal defense through aerial balls.Mehtab Hossain is displaying amazing work to hold defensive midfield line in control.

15- Chance!!
Al Amna puts in a delicious ball into the penalty box, and Bengal striker Suhair VP takes a brilliant shot but the Railway FC keeper keeps the danger at bay

11'- Hits the post

East Bengal creates a whirlpool of chances inside the penalty box, which started from a brilliant one-two play between Al Amna and Ralte only to see Brandon getting denied by the woodwork

7'- Chance!!!

Few patches of sloppy play owing to the wet pitch. A smacking delivery from Satyen Roy on the left flank into the box could have almost given them the equalizer. However, Mithun sails the ball way over the goal.

4' Railway looking to immediately neuter East Bengal's lead with two consecutive attacks

2' Goaaaall!!

Keralite footballer Justin makes a brilliant forward run to hit the ball into the net. Poor work by Railway's keeper Sudipta as the ball slides past him in the near post.

1' The game is underway as Railways kick off the ball from the center.

Both teams observe a minute's silence to commemorate the passing away of East Bengal legend Ahmed Khan.

Both teams are out on the pitch as we are minutes away from kickoff.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Calcutta Football League 2017.

Today, we have defending champions East Bengal taking on Railway FC in what will be the Red and Golds’ fifth outing in the CFL this season.

Khalid Jamil’s charges have swept all before them this season, winning four of their previous four encounters and host Railway later today in the knowledge that another win will take them three points clear of nearest rivals Mohun Bagan, who have played four games and won them all.

Railway FC, meanwhile, have lost all their CFL 2017 matches so far and come into the East Bengal fixture rooted to the bottom of the table. The railwaymen have looked out of their depth this term and East Bengal will be chomping at the bit today.

Here are East Bengal’s results so far in CFL 2017:

East Bengal 4–1 Rainbow
East Bengal 2–0 Calcutta Customs
East Bengal 5–1 Peerless
East Bengal 3–0 Southern Samity

Here are Railway FC’s results so far in CFL 2017:

Tollygunge 1–0 Railway
Mohun Bagan 3–0 Railway
Rainbow 1–0 Railway

Here is the predicted East Bengal line-up for today’s game:

Barreto, Gurwinder, Mehtab, Samad, Chullova, Danmawia, Brandon, Al Amna, Costa, Surabuddin, Suhair.

The match kicks off at 2.45 pm Indian Standard Time at the East Bengal ground.