Dimitri Petratos came up with a fine solo effort to find the only goal of the match and help a 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant prevail over its traditional rival Emami East Bengal in the final of the 132nd Durand Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Sunday.
The Indian Super League champion regained the coveted title after a gap of 23 years. It is also Bagan’s 17th title in the tournament helping it surpass East Bengal as the most successful team in this competition.
With a turnout of around 60,000 in the galleries cheering for their favourite sides, the match turned out to be a nervy affair forcing the two sides to seek caution over aggression.
Bagan, which went down to 10 men following the ejection of its midfielder Anirudh Thapa in the 62nd minute, finally managed to collect itself in the final quarter of the action and found the winner in the 71st.
The goal came through a nice piece of work from its Australian striker, Petratos, who showed the requisite skill to come up with a spectacular finish.
The opening half turned out to be an insipid affair as opponents contained their offensive plans to see the action mostly hovering around midfield.
Bagan put three foreigners — Albanian Armando Sadiku, Frenachman Hugo Boumous and Petratos — in its attack formation at the start but East Bengal did a fine defensive job in thwarting them.
The match came alive after the hour mark when Thapa received his second booking of for a high boot charge on the East Bengal forward Javier Siverio. East Bengal tried to utilise its numerical advantage but it was Bagan which found the winner.
The result: Final: Emami East Bengal 0 lost to Mohun Bagan Super Giant 1 (Dimitri Petratos 71).
