What a win for East Bengal! Alejandro Menendez's men pummel six goals past Jamshedpur FC to register their second successive win of Durand Cup and soar to the top of Group A.
90+2' Boithang Haokip gets on the scoresheet and it's six goals to none! Bidyashagar, on a hat-trick, unselfishly squares it for Boithang and the latter makes no mistake.
90' The fourth official has signalled for three minutes of added time.
88' Prakash Sarkar makes an unnecessary rash tackle on Naresh Singh and picks up a yellow. It's a silly, silly tackle and absolutely unnecessary.
86' Jamshedpur had actually begun the second half on a bright note, but those two quickfire goals from Bidyashagar have left the side completely deflated.
83' There was a lot of talk going into the Durand Cup that East Bengal would struggle without it's star striker Jobby Justin this season. But with Jaime Santos Colado, Bidyashagar Singh and Pintu Mahata firing on all cylinders, the attack looks mighty impressive. Where is Jobby heading to, you ask? - Jobby Justin free to play for ATK
80' That's two goals in four minutes and Bidyashagar has emerged as a fan favourite. An academy product, Bidyashagar has emerged as one of East Bengal's brightest talents over the last two matches and coach Menendez must be extremely pleased with the young lad.
79' MAKE THAT 5-0. And it's Bidyashagar AGAIN! It's Brandon who sets it up for Bidyashagar again and he beats the 'keeper with ease to propel East Bengal to a commanding 5-0 lead.
75' Bidyashagar makes it 4-0! He was denied a few minutes ago but he makes amends as he bags his second goal of the tournament. Brandon does extremely well to tee is for Bidyashagar and he squeezes the ball between a defender and the 'keeper to all but seal East Bengal's win. And he struck that goal with his weaker foot, mind you.
71' Another chance for EB, but the Jamshedpur FC 'keeper makes a strong save to deny Bidyashagar. He's played into the box and Bidyashagar goes for power over placement, but Amrit reads it well to stave off the danger.
69' Aakash Dave fires a goal-bound volley, but Mirshad is up to the task. Pintu has a terrific chance to double his tally, but he takes too much time and ends up losing out on the opportunity.
65' What a chance for East Bengal! Bidyashagar makes a stirring run down the right flank and plays a perfect cross to Brandon, but the latter can't get a shot off. Brandon, who had all the space in the world, ought to have slotted the ball home.
62' Ouch, that's gotta hurt! Pintu and Baset Handsah vie for a 50-50 ball and the former wins it, but Baset goes in with both legs and clatters into Pintu's left knee. The East Bengal attacker is rolling in pain and the ref shows Baset the yellow card. In my books though, that two-footed challenge warranted a straight red.
60' Third and final change for East Bengal: Prakash Sarkar comes on for Tondomba Singh.
59' Aidara releases Brandon down the right and the winger crafts a neat cross, but there's no one to convert it.
56' The Jamshedpur have gotten off to a fine start and have really upped the ante here. They've kept the East Bengal defence on its toes and have won their second corner in three minutes.
55' The heavens have opened up and its pouring here! So much so that even the broadcast camera is covered with water droplets. Ha!
53' Top save from Mirshad. Harsha, who came on a couple of minutes ago, has a go from distance and the ball swerves and dips, forcing Mirshad to dive to his right and make a fine stop.
50' Second substitution in as many minutes and it's a change in personnel for East Bengal this time around. Borja Gomez comes on for Marti Crespi. One Spaniard on for another!
49' Change for Jamshedpur FC: Defender comes in for a midfielder as Harsha Parui replaces Pukhrambam.
48' Three positive attacking moves in as many minute and Jamshedpur has won the first corner of the second half. A swirling cross is delivered, but fails to trouble the East Bengal defence.
47' Bidyashagar chases a long ball and races into Jamshedpur's attacking third, but a defender intercepts in the knick of time.
46' KICK OFF!
Hey guys, Shyam here and I will keep you company through the second half. While we wait for the action to resume, here's something interesting for you- Did you know? Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev had signed a contract with East Bengal in 1992! Here's more on that - Kapil Dev and his love affair with East Bengal
That will be all from my side and my colleague Shyam Vasudevan will now take over. Enjoy the game!
45' Brandon and Boithang with a series of one-two passes among them. For a moment it looked like we had the fourth one coming. But the JFC defence keeps the menace at bay.
40' Mirshad crushes Jamshedpur's best effort till now. The goalie charges in to punch out the JFC striker's effort.
38' Jamshedpur continues to make the same mistakes. The defensive unit is still playing high up and you cannot simply afford to do that especially if you have the scoreline in mind. The distance between the goalkeepers and the defenders is quite some yards.
35' Kassim Aidara, oh so close! As East Bengal continues to outplay JFC in all departments we have another effort coming in from the talented skipper Aidara. He tries to head in a corner kick floating into the box but it goes just wide. Have the feeling that we will see more goals today.
31' PINTUUUUU... GOAL! A brilliant strike, Pintu Mahata's first in EB colours. Coming in from arch rival Mohun Bagan, what a timely dash from the young man. He dodges the JFC defenders to break into a run and then converts wonderfully with ease. Gope was clueless.
The youngster had stormed into the limelight when he struck a stunning brace in the Kolkata derby last season. Here's more on him - Who is Pintu Mahata?
29' As I said, 'The best football is played in the rain'. But I am not sure if we can be promised the best football if the rain is this heavy. It is raining cats and dogs now! One can only wonder how the game changes after this.
25' The Jamshedpur FC defence has been caught napping multiple times now as East Bengal continues to breach into the JFC half. Will we have more goals here? And as I type this update, Boithang has missed another shot on target. Another long pass to Boithang sees the sub go for a lob after Gope rushes out of the goal. But Gope is tall enough to prevent further damage.
23' There's a slight drizzle which has set in. Umbrellas out in the stands. Reminds me of the saying: The best football is played in the rain.
18' East Bengal is doing everything it can to keep the Jamshedpur FC midfielders in check. But what do we have here? Karandeep advances hastily up the right flank to land in a wonderful cross into the box. Gope tries to punch it out but Boithang, who just replaced today's star Colado, tries to goes for the shot. It ricochets off the woodwork. Unlucky!
12' EAST BENGAL SUBSTITUTION: An early change which the fans wouldn't have expected. Colado looks to be in a bit of discomfort after that challenge from Gope. Boithang comes on.
8' ANOTHER GOAL! JAIME COLADO! Brilliant start from East Bengal as Colado has again been played up front. Amrit Gope could absolutely do nothing to stop the lob from rolling into the net.
5' YELLOW CARD, PENALTY AND A GOAL! JAIME COLADO scores from the spot after Jamshedpur goalkeeper goes for a tackle within the perimeter. The referee did not hesitate in showing him the card. Lucky to have escaped the red there.
3' A lot of changes have been made by Alejandro Menendez Garcia since the last game and it is showing in the very early minutes of the game. Jaime Colado has been played into the box courtesy a long pass but the tall Amrit Gope has got his hands to it. Woah! That was really close. JFC heaves a sigh of relief.
1' And here we go. Jamshedpur FC has set the ball rolling.
We are all set for the kickoff.
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2:51pm: Jamshedpur FC, which is playing its first match in the Durand Cup today, is fielding its reserve line-up. Most of these youngsters are Tata Football Academy graduates.
Starting line-up: Amrit Gope (GK), Naresh, Vijay, Karandeep, Baset, Marchester, Aakash, Billu, Mansana, L. Killong, Vikash.
2:50pm: East Bengal coach, Alejandro Menendez, feels the simultaneous functioning if the Durand Cup and Calcutta Football League is unacceptable. He called the scheduling an " absolute disaster ."
2:45pm: It's going to be a busy few weeks for East Bengal as it will also be playing in the Calcutta Football League (CFL). The side begins its campaign against George Telegraph on August 9. Here's the CFL schedule - Calcutta Football League: List of fixtures
2:40pm: Pintu Mahata's name rings a bell, doesn't it? Well, the youngster had stormed into the limelight when he struck a stunning brace in the Kolkata derby last season. Here's more on him - Who is Pintu Mahata?
2:35pm: So Bidyashagar's match-winning performance against Army Red sees him earn a spot in the starting XI, while the side's influential striker Kassim Aidara also starts.
2:30pm: Here's the East Bengal starting line-up: Asheer, Kamalpreet, Jaime Colado Santos, Pintu Mahata, Tondomba, Kassim Aidara (C), Marti, Bidyashagar, Abhishek, Brandon, Mirshad (GK).
We have a cracker of a contest on our hands today as East Bengal takes on Indian Super League (ISL) club Jamshedpur FC in the Durand Cup 2019 this afternoon. East Bengal comes into the tie on the back of a 2-0 win over Army Red, while Jamshedpur will play its first game of the season.
East Bengal found it tough to get past the Army Red defence in their clash earlier this week, but a stunning Jaime Colado freekick and stoppage-time goal from Bidyashagar Singh earned the side all three points.
The group stage of the Durand Cup will be live streamed on Addatimes.
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