East Bengal 3-0 Southern Samity, CFL 2017, As it happened

The first half was pretty much balanced but by the start of the second half, East Bengal had gained complete control. They could have got more goals if they were more ruthless in front of goal. Ralte scored the first goal while Samadh and Amna got the other goals.

Amna's performance stood out while Plaza was endearing as well. Southern will go back and try to figure out what went wrong.

That's all for today.

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

90+1' - Amna has been adjudged as the Man of the Match. Meanwhile, another corner for East Bengal. Comes to nothing.

90' - Corner for East Bengal. A good ball is met with a decent effort on goal. However, the ball is cleared off the goalline.

88' - Long shot from Amna but it is way wide. East Bengal still looking for a fourth goal. The SOuthern players look wore out.

86' - Samad plays a beautiful all pass and overlaps to send in a cross. The cross is cleared for a corner.

Kevin Lobo takes the corner, sends in an inviting cross but it is cleared.

83' - Corner for Sothern Samity. East Bengal clear and break for a counter. The chance is wasted as the final pass is squandered.

81' - A brawl breaks out as a Southern player complains that Surabuddin stamped it. The referee gives a free kick and calms everyone down.

79' - CHANCE!

Southern break away on the counter, and have a chance to shoot. But Barretto fists the ball away for a corner. The corner leads to nothing.

78' - Yet another attack from the Red and Golds, as Samad surges forward through the right wing but the cross is cleared.

75' - GOAL! 3-0!

Willis Plaza advances down the right and makes loads of room before unleashing a powerful shot. The ball rebounds off the first post but falls at Amna's feet who finishes calmly. No way back from here for Southern.

73' - Surabuddin is looking very lively ever since coming on. He creates space and sends in a ball but can't find any one.

70' - A good spell of possession by East Bengal in the opposition half does not bear any fruit as the long range shot goes way wide. Cooling break underway now.

67' - Yellow card for Rakesh Masi. The Southern captain argues with the referee but he can't really complain there.

62' - SHOT!

Plaza takes it onto his left foot and shoots with power from just outside the box. Bhaskor makes a good save to deny Plaza.

61' - East Bengal are dominating the second half until now but Southern are not relenting and are looking to attack. Aboubakar cuts in from the left and sets up a teammate who can't connect his shot.

56' - GOAL! 2-0 East Bengal!

Samad Ali Mallick overlaps through the right wing and sends in a cross. However, the cross is misdirected towards the goal instead of the centre of the box. The goalkeeper is caught off-guard and the ball goes in!

55' - SHOT FROM A DISTANCE FROM BRANDON!

Straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.

52' - Freekick for East Bengal. Amna floats it in with a little curve but is cleared with conviction by the Southern defence.

50' - Another corner for Southern. This time, a better ball in but it is cleared nevertheless.

47' - CHANCE!

But Barretto is there for the time being. Corner for Southern but does not bear any fruit.

46' - East Bengal have a spring in their step after the break as they surge forward. No end product though.

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

The referee blows the whistle for the half-time. East Bengal were lucky to take the lead but they have to be more ruthless in the second half to kill the game. Southern have 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+1' - A chance for Southern and the ball goes in the net but the linesman had already signalled offside.

Change for Southern before half-time.

45' - 2 minutes extra time. Can Southern get the equaliser before half time?

42' - Ambitious try from Chullova from a long way out. Goes way wide.

39' - Southern are constantly looking to attack and find a way through but to no avail.

35' - Huge chance for East Bengal!

A brilliant one-two play just outside the box helps Brandon break forward. One on one with the 'keeper but his attempt is weak. Should have been 2-0 there.

32' - CHANCE! HITS THE POST!

Suhair skips past the defender Dalraj using his pace and strength. He creates the space and shoots. The ball hits the post and goes out of play. The advancing goalkeeper collides with Suhair and the latter is hurt here.

31' - CHANCE!

However, the shot is weak and Luiz Barreto saves it easily. East Bengal break on counter, Amna get's the ball in a good position and shoots straight to the Southern goalie.

30' - Amna's shot is deflected for a corner. Tthe corner is wasted as Southern break away on counter.

28' - Southern are looking to find their way back into the match. They break through the left wing, but the cross is cleared by East Bengal's defence.

25' - First corner for East Bengal but they can't make it count. The ball is cleared with conviction.

24' - Free kick for East Bengal from the halfway line. The ball is floated forwards the attack by Amna and is brought down by Brandon. Plaza takes a shot on the turn but the goalkeeper makes a good save.

21' - Forst corner of the day for Southern Samity, Can they score from the set-piece?

A good set-piece but the header goes up and over.

19' - Chance for East Bengal! Squandered!

A good counter attack from the Red and Golds see them surging forward through the right wing. Laldanwamia sends in a cross, Willis Plaza meets it but sends the header over.

17' - Southern play the ball around in the opposition half but they are lacking the final ball.

14' Huge chance for Southern Samity to equalise!

An inviting whipped cross from the right wing, as Aboubakar gets onto it and flicks it goalwards. East Bengal goalie Barreto can't grasp it and it falls to the forward again, who can't react quickly enough.

12' Long shot!

Southern's Nigerian forward has a go at it from 30 yards out. Doesn't get it right, way wide.

10' - Southern trying to attack, find a way through but the East Bengal defence are up to the task.

8' - GOAL!

Brandon intercepts a poor pass in Southern's half and went through to the 'keeper. One on one, and he makes no mistakes. Calmly places it into the net. 1-0 East Bengal!

Sorry for the delayed start to the blog. We were facing some technical issues. Anyway, the match has started and is in its seventh minute now, East Bengal are looking to attack right from the start.

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

Today, defending champions East Bengal take on Southern Samity in both teams’ fourth CFL fixture.

The Red and Golds have had a perfect winning record in the CFL 2017 so far and will look to maintain that with another win today. Khalid Jamil’s side received a shot in the arm yesterday after the club signed former Mohun Bagan captain Katsumi Yusa but the Japanese midfielder is not available for the CFL campaign.

East Bengal saw the emergence of another hat-trick hero last time out in the form of Surabuddin Mollick, who netted three quick-fire goals after coming on as a second half substitute against Peerless in a rain-affected clash. The Red and Golds emerged 5–1 winners on the day and are now level on points, goal difference, goals scored and goals conceded with arch-rivals Mohun Bagan.

Southern Samity, meanwhile, haven’t had a great start to their CFL 2017 campaign. The I-League 2nd Division outfit have collected a single point from their three fixtures so far, hence upsetting East Bengal looks a tough ask for the club.

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

Barreto, Gurwinder, Mitchell, Chullova, Samad, Brandon, Al Amna, Prakash, Danmawia, Suhair, Plaza.

The match kicks off at 3 pm Indian Standard Time at the East Bengal ground.