Durand Cup

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Title winners

2024

Nilesh Bhattacharya, Sep 1, 2024" The Times of India

Kolkata : In the end, it was a triumph NorthEast United FC seemed to have stolen straight from the page of Mohun Bagan’s script. It was history for them, their cup of joy --pure, maiden and magical. It was their goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh’s turn to do a Vishal Kaith, pulling off two saves in the shootout to seal the deal. It was a what could-have-been moment for Mohun Bagan SG as well.


North East United lifted the Durand Cup --their first trophy since their birth in Indian football a decade ago ---dramatically beating Mohun Bagan 4-3 in penalty shootout after coming back from 0-2 goal down to hold the defending champions 2-2 in regulation time at the Salt Lake Stadium.


And how the Highlanders flourished on a stage which Mohun Bagan seemed to have made a part of their survival gene in this tournament. And how Bagan’s art of escapology failed to bear fruit in the most decisive stage of the tournament. In the back-to back knockout matches leading to the final, Jose Molina’s green-and-maroon brigade made it a habit of surviving against the odds, clawing their way back from the jaws of death against Punjab FC and Bengaluru FC before seeing goalkeeper Vishal Kaith rising to the occasion and keeping his team afloat with two crucial in the penalty shootout on both occasions.


The script underwent a complete change in the final. It was Mohun Bagan who claimed a 2-0 goal lead thanks to Jason Cummings’ penalty in the 11th minute and Sahal Abdul Samad’s first goal of the season four minutes into the first half injury time. Until then, it was smooth sailing for Mohun Bagan and their march to Durand Cup title No. 18 looked like theirs to lose. But NEUFC turned the game on its head in a second-half resuscitation. Their coach Benali’s introduction of Guillermo Fernandez and Louis Macarton paid off handsomely as the Highlanders took the wind out of Bagan’s sails with two goals in a span of three minutes.