East Bengal played true to its form to beat Jamshedpur FC 2-0 in the first semifinal of the Kalinga Super Cup at the Kalinga Stadium on Wednesday and made it to a second title clash of a national-level tournament this season after several years of obscurity. East Bengal will meet the winner of the second semifinal between Odisha FC and Mumbai City FC (to be played on Thursday) in the final on Sunday.
East Bengal seemed to begin where it left off in the group league stage which it topped by winning all the three matches with emphatic performances. The red-and-gold brigade found the opening off a set-piece in the 19th minute when Saul Crespo reached Hijazi Maher with a smart cut-back to see the Jordanian defender tapping home. It was Brazilian Cleiton Silva’s corner, which was partially cleared by Provat Lakra, that set up the opportunity for East Bengal.
A spell of unseasonal downpour just before the start made the teams hesitant about going full steam initially but the action got intense as the match wore on. Jamshedpur FC tried to regroup midway through the match and almost got the equalizer in the 30th minute but for the acrobatic effort of East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill, who cleared Rei Tachikawa’s powerful attempt diving to his left.
Tachikawa and winger Imran Khan made two more attempts for Jamshedpur before the interval, just to see Gill and then Spanish defender Jose Pardo keeping the East Bengal citadel safe by bringing out effective counter-measures.
East Bengal’s young forward P.V. Vishnu almost doubled the lead in the 43rd minute but failed to see his swerving attempt find the net as the Jamshedpur goalkeeper T.P. Rehenesh tipped it out with a diving effort. East Bengal ensured that Jamshedpur did not make a comeback after the break as it found the insurance goal in the 47th minute. A combination between Nandhakumar Sekar and Nishu Kumar opened the goal route for Javier Siverio, who found the Jamshedpur net with a smart flick that outwitted the opponent goalkeeper Rehenesh.
East Bengal had the chance to make it 3-0 but Cleiton saw his penalty attempt coming off the cross-bar in the 82nd minute.
The disappointment did not have an impact on the match as East Bengal kept a clean sheet to pick up its fourth straight win of the tournament while giving out a nice exhibition of proper planning and execution that has been inspired by the arrival of its Spanish coach Carles Cuadrat.
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