Mohun Bagan hammers East Bengal in RFDL East Zone qualifier

In the youth Kolkata derby, Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat East Bengal FC 5-1 in the East Zone regional qualifier of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL) at the Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay Stadium in Barrackpore on Monday.

For Mohun Bagan SG, Suhail Ahmad scored a brace, while Sibajit Singh, Taison Singh and Dippendu Biswas found the back of the net once each. For East Bengal, Aman CK managed to score the lone goal in the closing minutes of the match.

Though Mohun Bagan emerged triumphant, it was East Bengal who started the match aggressively. In the sixth minute, Gunraj Singh’s free-kick hit the crossbar.

But Sibajit scored from a free-kick in the 23rd minute after Fardin Ali Molla was tackled just outside the penalty box when he tried to penetrate the box from the right flank.

As Sibajit put the ball into the top corner, East Bengal goalkeeper Ranjit Sarkar had no chance in the goal.

In the 44th minute, Suhail was tackled on the edge of the penalty box. With Mohun Bagan earning a free-kick, Taison stepped up and dispatched the ball into the net to double up Mohun Bagan's lead.

When the second half began, Suhail scored two back-to-back goals. In the 48th minute, Sibajit scored following a free-kick from Suhail.

In the 67th minute, Taison's cross found the head of Suhail who slotted the ball home for the fourth goal of Mohun Bagan.

In the 82nd minute, Dippendu completed the rout scoring the fifth goal.

Mohun Bagan SG coach Bastob Roy hailed his team after the massive win,

“As a coach, I am satisfied with just the three points even if it comes by a single goal margin. The rest of the goals are for the supporters. The next two matches are must-win games and we will have to shift our focus quickly to that. We are playing United Sports in a ground [Rabindra Sarobar Stadium] with treacherous conditions and I’m concerned about that,” Roy said.

“East Bengal conceded the goals in a single spell and hence they suffered a breakdown. It can happen to any team and as this is a development league, we should much rather focus on the learning that these players are gaining,” he added.