It doesn’t always take a 5-0 win to show that a team has played well. The Carles Cuadrat project continues to give hope to East Bengal fans, with a 2-0 victory over Jamshedpur FC taking the team into the final of the Kalinga Super Cup. Goals from Javier Siverio, their Spanish forward, and Maher Hijazi, the Jordanian centre-back, were enough for East Bengal to reach a second final of the season – they lost 1-0 to Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the Durand Cup final.
The Red-and-Golds came into this match after a 3-1 win against Bagan, their arch-rivals. A Cleiton Silva brace helped them to get that derby win, and also put the Brazilian striker in pole position for the golden boot. On the other side, Daniel Chima Chukwu, Jamshedpur’s Nigerian striker and former East Bengal player, was on three goals, one behind Cleiton, but he did not make Khalid Jamil’s starting XI.
East Bengal started the game with plenty of possession, and right from the start, they had the attacking impetus. They got their first corner in the third minute but that was cleared to safety by the Jamshedpur defence.
The East Bengal midfield and wide players looked confident throughout, with Vishnu TM and Siverio playing between them and leading multiple attacks. Nandhakumar Sekar won a corner in the 18th minute that went to the right edge of the box, where Saul Crespo took it, ran two strides and squared the ball into the box. TP Rehnesh, in the Jamshedpur goal, was beaten and Hijazi made no mistake guiding it into the net.
Nandhaa to Nishu to Siverio!
East Bengal are 2-0 up against JFC!#KalingaSuperCup @JioCinema 📸 pic.twitter.com/zHdYhCUCp2
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) January 24, 2024
The Steelers had a few shots on target, with Jeremy Monzorro, their French No. 10, and Japan’s Rei Tachikawa trying their luck from distance, but Prabhsukhan Gill in the East Bengal goal showed strong hands to fist them away. The first half ended 1-0 in favour of East Bengal.
Two minutes into the second half, out of nowhere, from a movement down the left flank, Nandhakumar passed to Nishu Kumar, who sent in a low cross to Siverio, who just had one thing to do. It was 2-0 to East Bengal, with Siverio beating Rehenesh at the near post.
Jamil’s substitutions didn’t make much difference for the Steelers, but Cuadrat brought in young Sayan Banerjee with 10 minutes to go. He proved to be an impactful change as he earned a penalty after he was fouled by Elsinho inside the box in the 81st minute. Unfortunately for East Bengal, Cleiton’s spot kick hit the woodwork.
The stakes will be high for East Bengal in the final, with the winner earning a spot in the AFC Champions League 2. The second semi-final, between Odisha FC and Mumbai City FC, will be played on Thursday evening at the same venue.
2nd final of the season for The Red and Golds!
Carles Cuadrat’s side defeated Jamshedpur FC 2-0 to reach the #KalingaSuperCup Final.
They’ll face the winner of Odisha FC vs Mumbai City FC in the final.
Scorers: Hijazi, Siverio@eastbengal_fc pic.twitter.com/onA8j5CqE6
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) January 24, 2024
