Despite playing well in the Durand Cup, it slipped away.
They had to lose to Diamond Harbour FC in the semi-final. After losing momentum despite a good start, the Super Cup was the only path to a comeback. And they moved one step closer to achieving that. Defeating Punjab FC 3-1, East Bengal entered the Super Cup final once again.
On Thursday, December 4, East Bengal FC defeated Punjab FC 3-1 at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa. Goals were scored by Mohammad Rashid, Kevin Sibille and Saul Crespo. The red and yellow's opponent in the final will be known after the second semi-final between FC Goa and Mumbai City FC.
However, though the red and yellow entered the final, pressure remains as Oscar Bruzon saw a red card. He had to leave the field after receiving a red card for arguing with the referee during the match. As a result, he will not be able to stay in the dugout for the final.
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Oscar fielded a full-strength team in this match. He kept all five foreigners in the starting eleven. The game started with long balls, which were somewhat boring. Though Punjab tried to attack multiple times at the start, they couldn't succeed. On the other hand, though the red and yellow didn't attack much, they had control of the match. They also got the result. Rashid scored in the 12th minute.
East Bengal got a corner. Though Punjab cleared the corner, the ball went to Rashid. He was outside the box at that time. From there, he took a low shot. The ball went into Punjab's box, beating players from both teams. As it was a corner, players were expecting a high ball at that time, but Rashid scored brilliantly with an intelligent shot.
After taking the lead with a superb goal, East Bengal became more desperate to increase the margin. At one point, due to the red and yellow pressing football, Punjab's footballers couldn't get out of their own box. That's when the game turned. Punjab FC got a penalty in the 33rd minute. The ball hit Bipin Singh's hand inside the penalty box. Punjab's Daniel Ramirez scored from the penalty to restore parity.
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Though they restored parity, Punjab couldn't enjoy its happiness for long. Right at the end of the first half, East Bengal's Kevin Sibille scored with a header from a corner to increase the margin. East Bengal finished the first half leading 2-1.
Punjab couldn't fight in the second half of the match. Oscar Bruzon's boys kept complete control of the match. Saul Crespo scored the final goal of the match in the 71st minute. He scored a long-range goal after receiving the ball from Miguel. However, the match result could have been 4-1 instead of 3-1. In the 56th minute, the ball went from Miguel to Mahesh, from there to Bipin. He crossed to Hiroshi. Though he headed it, it hit the post.
East Bengal last played and won the Super Cup final in 2024. This time they are in the Super Cup final again. If they win one more match, the red and yellow will get the opportunity to play in ACL 2.
