Mohun Bagan edged past FC Goa 2-1 to set up a Kolkata Derby final of the 132nd Durand Cup played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. Albanian Armando Sadiku shrugged off his poor form to inspire Mohun Bagan to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over FC Goa semi-final. The win paved the way for a fairy-tale Durand Cup finale on ‘Super Sunday’ as it set up Mohun Bagan’s derby showdown against arch-rivals East Bengal in a repeat of 2004 final. Noah Sadaoui gave the lead for FC Goa but a penalty by Jason Cummings and a second-half goal by Armando Sadiku made sure that the Mariners will face their arch-rivals East Bengal in the finals on September 3. This was Mohun Bagan’s first Durand Cup final after 2019 when they lost to Gokulam Kerala. In 2004 also, Mohun Bagan had lost to East Bengal 1-2. They are yet to win the silverware since 2000 when they had defeated Mahindra United via golden goal. Both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have won the Durand Cup 16 times each.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant Head Coach Juan Ferrando made two changes to the line-up from the quarterfinals against Mumbai City with Asish Rai and Dimitrios Petratos coming in for Manvir Singh and Armando Sadiku. FC Goa Head Coach Manuel Marquez also named two changes in his line-up with Jay Gupta and Victor Rodriguez coming in for Saviour Gama and Carlos Martinez Rodriguez. Both teams were fighting for possession in the middle of the park and it was FC Goa who settled in quickly, maintaining most of the possession. The first chance of the half fell for FC Goa with Noah Sadoui’s left-footed effort going above the crossbar. At the other end, Dimitri Petratos’ effort was straight at FC Goa keeper Dheeraj Singh. The game became cagey in the middle of the half as four players were shown the yellow card by the referee, two each from both teams. Goa took the lead from a mistake by Hugo Boumous, his pass was intercepted by Noah Sadaoui and he ran past two defenders before planting his right-footed shot in the tight corner past Mohun Bagan keeper Vishal Kaith. Mohun Bagan increased the pressure on FC Goa going forward with their attackers increasing the intensity of the attacks. Sahal Abdul Samad and Ashique Kuruniyan were combining well with their deft one-touch passes and one such move led to Mohun Bagan’s equalizer. Ashique was fouled by Jay Gupta inside the box as the wingback was moving forward, earning a penalty for his side. The resultant penalty was converted with precision by Jason Cummings. FC Goa had a chance to double their lead just before the goal as Victor Rodriguez’s effort was blocked by the defender inside the six-yard box.
FC Goa started the second half strongly with Jay Gupta and Carl Mchugh forcing Vishal Kaith into good saves with their long-range efforts. Mohun Bagan again took the best of their opportunities as substitute Armando Sadiku gave the lead for the Kolkata side. The Albanian’s right-footed curler beat Dheeraj Singh and found the right corner of the goal. After conceding.
FC Goa were again on the front foot trying to get the equalizer, but they were lacking behind to apply the finishing touches.
The final minutes of the second half and eight injury time minutes saw some end-to-end action as both teams were throwing everything at each other, especially with FC Goa looking for the equalizer.
