East Bengal vs Bangladesh Army Highlights; Durand Cup 2023: Full Time: EBFC 2 - 2 BAFT; Khabra mistake leads to late equaliser

Points shared in the Group A encounter. East Bengal will be disappointed walking away with just a point from this contest. Bangladesh Army did not create enough chances to pose a threat throughout the entire game.

Crespo’s penalty and Siverio’s goal late in the first half but EBFC in full control. But a red card for Nishu Kumar following an elbow opened the doors for a comeback. Sahariar scored in the 88th minute to give some hope and Meraj completed the comeback after a poor back pass from Khabra.

Goal BAFT!!!! Khabra plays his pass short and straight to the BAFT attacker. A flurry of shots are saved by Prabhsukhan but the striker eventually manages to poke the ball into the back of the net.

EBFC 2 - 2 BAFT

Raihan Miah replaces Hasan Murad for Bangladesh Army FT. A final roll of the dice for BAFT. The team hasn’t looked like it is pushing for the equaliser despite the numerical advantage.

Six-minutes of added time at the end of the second half.

Goal!! Elsey has to deal with a long throw in first up. His headed clearance only finds Sahariar Emon at the edge of the box and he kicks into the side netting to get one back for BAFT.

EBFC 2 - 1 BAFT

New signing Jordan Elsey replaces central defender Gursimrat Gill.

Good build-up play from BAFT in the attacking third. The final ball though continues to be lacking. A cross comes into the box but Prabhsukhan is upto it.

East Bengal content to stay back and defend against the 11 men of BAFT. The front three are attempting to counter whenever the opportunity arises but no real support for them in the attacking third.

Sabbir is replaced by Mamun for the Bangladesh Army team.

Excellent feet from Nandha at the leftwing byline. Passes it to Mahesh who wriggles through two challenges but can’t find the striker with the final ball. Gunraj Grewal replaces Nandha.

A shot from outside the box by Jafar, no trouble for Prabhsukhan as he gathers with ease. BAFT getting slightly more space thanks to the numerical advantage.

Rajib replaces Ibrahim Khalil for Bangladesh Army.

Red card for Nishu!! The referee discusses with his assistant and dishes out the card for an elbow off the ball. Could this be the chance for BAFT to get back into the game?

Bangaldesh Army on the counter after a poor pass in the midfield but no support for the two attacking players.

A foul on Mahesh after a quick one-two with Mandar. A yellow card for Hasan for the challenge. The ball in from Mahesh is behind all players.

Another cross from the left-flank directed towards Siverio. The BAFT defence cuts it out. Three subs for EBFC as Borja Herrera, VP Suhair and Mobashir come in for Crespo, Siverio and Peka.

Another attack from BAFT that comes to nothing. The final pass has been missing from its attacks. East Bengal quickly counter but Mahesh unable to find Siverio with the final low pass from the left.

Handball by right back Kamrul gives EBFC a free-kick from the right flank. Mahesh takes it but it fails to reach the players waiting in the box.

East Bengal with some degree of control in posession for the first time this half. A through ball trying to find Mandar on the left wing is cut-out.

Good control at the edge of the box from BAFT. Minhajur tries to recycle posession but is clawed down by Mahesh. A free kick awarded. Hasan attempts a long-ranger but fails to get the right connection.

An early chance for Bangladesh Army as a long ball in to the box, falls kindy for the striker. His pivot and shot though blazes over the bar.

BAFT kick us off in the second half. East Bengal will look to secure the three points while, Bangaldesh Army will look to make a comeback into the game. Ranju comes in as a half-time sub for BAFT.

The added-time goal by Siverio sends EBFC very much in control at the end of the half. Crespo’s penalty following a foul on Nishu Kumar gave it the lead. Apart from the two goals though there hasn’t been too many chances in the game. Nandha looked aggresive on the left. BAFT also had a couple of difficult headed chances but it was dealt with by the defence and the keeper. Join us for the second half.

Siverio scores!! The keeper came out to deal with the cross from the right corner flag, misses it and Siverio does the rest. Just has to guide the ball into the back of the net.

EBFC 2 - 0 BAFT

4 mins of added-time at the end of the first half. Another cross into the box for BAFT, but the defenders deal with the threat. The Bangladesh Army strikers haven’t been allowed space for free headers all game.

A good run by Sazzad down the middle of the pitch. Khabra trips him and BAFT are awarded a free-kick. The ball reaches Imtiyaz but he is uanble to get it under control. Replays show the ball hit his arms. Physio in to check on him as well.

Peka with a golden chance to double the score. Crespo played an excellent through ball to send the youngster in. The keeper does well to save the shot. A corner for EBFC. Siverio with a volley at the edge of the box, but it flies over the bar.

Crespo scores!! A cool, calm finish to the bottom left corner from the midfielder. East Bengal open the scoring at the VYBK. An unnecessary goal to concede for Bangladesh Army after keeping East Bengal at bay for 33 mins.

EBFC 1 - 0 BAFT

Penalty for EBFC! Nishu Kumar tries to cut back from the byline and the BAFT defender pulls him back. Referee has a pause and awards the penalty.

A continues spell of possession from East Bengal over the last few minutes. BAFT finally get a few passes in and progress to the East Bengal half but the shot from outside the box is wayward and bounces out for a goal kick.

A long diagonal from Nishu finds Nandha in the left-wing. He cuts in and his shot is deflected out off the defender.

Khabra sends Nandha through on goal down the left wing but the flag goes up for off-side. No clear cut chances for both teams so far.

Excellent first touch from the striker, almost put Nandha through on goal, but he couldn’t quite get the ball from under his feet and the chance fizzles out!

Another headed chance for BAFT, but the header goes wide. Was a difficult chance as the ball was quite far from the goal and there were enough defenders to deal with the danger.

Low cross into the box from Mahesh. Headed out by the BAFT defence for a throw-in. A wayward shot from the edge of the box and the ball goes out for a goal-kick.

Siverio tumbles in the box and raises his hands in appeal! Referee is unmoved. The cross came in from the left flank after good build-up play between Mahesh, Peka and Mandar.

A long ball in from the BAFT defence, manages to find Sahariar but his dribble is cut out by the defence and the ball is cleared. A foul on Saul Crespo near the centre circle.

East Bengal back in control of posession after a brief spell of control by Bangladesh Army. The left-wing seems to be the area of action. A cross comes in following a Khabra throw but no serious threat caused.

Bangladesh Army with its first attack of the game. A cross from the left-back finds Sazzad but his header was straight at Prabhsukhan.

East Bengal progressing up the pitch. Mandar and Khabra playing down the left-wing trying to get the ball early into the box. East Bengal have the ball in the back of the net!! A clear handball from Siverio! Referee shows a yellow card. Was a great cross in from Mandar, but Siverio clearly using his hand to deflect the ball in.

East Bengal immediately with control of possession. An early cross into the box from the EBFC right-back but the Bangaldesh Army keeper is upto the task.

Heavy rain welcomes the teams at the VYBK. East Bengal in its full white kits, while Bangladesh Army are sporting its green kits.

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Durand Cup 2023: Schedule, Teams, Groups, Venue, live streaming info

Durand Cup 2023 will have 43 matches, including the final. There will be 36 group-stage matches, four quarterfinals, two semifinals and then the final in Kolkata.

East Bengal: Prabhsukhan Gill (GK), Nishu Kumar, Lalchungnunga, Gursimrat Gill, Mandar Rao Dessai, Harmanjot Khabra (c), Saul Crespo, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Vanlalpeka Guite, Nandhakumar Sekar, Javier Siverio

Bangaldesh Army: Ashraful Islam Rana (GK), Mehedi Hasan (c), Kamrul Islam, Hasan Murad, Mohammad Rakib, Sazzad Hossen, MD Jafar Iqbal, Emtiyaz Raihan, MD Sahariar Emon, MD Ibrahim Khalil, MD Sabbir Hossain

Goalkeepers: Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Kamaljit Singh, Aditya Patra

Defenders: Lalchungnunga, Gursimrat Singh Gill, Nishu Kumar, Tuhin Das, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, Mohamad Rakip, Athul Unnikrishnan, Jordan Elsey (Australia), Jose Antonio Pardo Lucas (Spain)

Midfielders: Souvik Chakrabarti, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Vanlalpeka Guite, Gurnaj Singh Grewal, Saul Crespo (Spain), Mobashir Rahman, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Borja Herrera (Spain), Nandhakumar Sekar, Mandar Rao Desai

Forwards: Cleiton Silva (Brazil), Vp Suhair, Javier Siverio (Spain), Jesin Tk

• The East Bengal vs Bangladesh Army Durand Cup 2023 match can be watched live on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD.
• The match can also be live-streamed on the Sony LIV app and website.

The East Bengal vs Bangladesh Army Durand Cup 2023 match will kick-off at 4:45 PM on Sunday, August 6 at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) in Kolkata.

“Losers find excuses while the winners find solutions”, head coach Carles Cuadrat gave the message to the East Bengal fans on the eve of his team’s first match of the season, against Bangladesh Army in Durand Cup at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.

The Spanish tactician who guided Bengaluru FC to the Indian Super League (ISL) title in 2018, is giving the East Bengal supporters hope about turning out a more productive season this time.

“We will be trying to change the dynamics of the club and try to start a new process in East Bengal. The results have not come as per the expectations, but we need a process to build up the side and start winning matches,” Cuadrat said in his first interaction with the media on Saturday.

Read Full preview here - ​East Bengal head coach Carles Cuadrat assures a new dawn to EBFC fans​

Stay Tuned for live updates from the 2023 Durand Cup match between East Bengal and Bangladesh Army at the VYBK stadium in Kolkata.