Shillong Lajong vs East Bengal Highlights: SLFC 2-1 EBFC, Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal, Figo nets winner, East Bengal out

Figo’s late goal proves to be the winner as Shillong Lajong eliminates East Bengal from the Durand Cup 2024. A night to learn for Cuadrat and yet, a night to forget for East Bengal and its fans.

For Shillong Lajong fans, on the other hand, it’s early Christmas at their home stadium.

East Bengal gets a free-kick as Yuste is fouled around the half-way line. The ball is headed away but Gursimrat, trying to keep the ball in play, earns a corner kick.

Shillong Lajong comes close to scoring yet again, with Sangti taking the final shot, which is saved brilliantly by Gill through a reflex save.

Nandha delivers a right-footed curler from the right an PV Vishnu’s tries a header, which is just off-target and another chance goes begging for the visitors.

East Bengal attacks on quickly, with Cleiton, Diamantakos, Yuste and Crespo combining for an attack but the final shot flies over the net.

Shillong Lajong stuns East Bengal just when the visiting side looked to ease with the equaliser as Rudwere crosses into the centre and Figo slots it in. And the JLN stadium erupts with cheers as the home side regains lead and a potential spot in the final four.

In: Sangti, Out: Hame

East Bengal finally found the breakthrough as Vishnu delivers another cross from the left and Nandha, on the far post, makes a run into the box and slots the ball into the net.

The players walks to the sideline and lifts his shirt to show ‘Respect Women’, hinting solidarity with the protests in Kolkata regarding the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at R. G. Kar Hospital in Kolkata on August 9.

Shillong is maintaining a very strict man-to-man marking and East Bengal tries to break it with single-touch passes. But Nandha’s pass into the box is cleared by Shillong and seconds later, Vishnu’s cross from the left for Diamantakos, ends into the gloves of Manas.

East Bengal is growing onto Shillong Lajong now, trying to find avenues of attack in the final third. Lalchungnunga crosses from the right for another attempt of a set-piece attack but that ends to nothing yet again.

Nandha is set up in the box, with a cross from his left. He gets the correct amount of contact with his right foot but the ball hits Manas’ body to deny a certain equaliser.

East Bengal gets a corner kick, with Nandha looking to take it. He sets up Talal on his left, who crosses into the centre for Lalchungnunga. The centre-back takes the header but it is too high.

Vishnu tries to create a gap in the Shillong Lajong box with a cross from the left. Diamantakos gets sandwiched between the goalkeeper and a Shillong Lajong player, failing to get a tough on the ball, which would have seen it roll into the net.

Lalchungnunga decides to get into the thick of things with a long-ranger, which flies off-target and the player apologizes for failing to set a player up.

East Bengal makes two changes, bringing in Vishnu PV and Cleiton Silva for Zothanpuia and Hijazi Maher.

Hardy takes the free-kick for Shillong Lajong and Aman heads the ball on target. But Gill keeps his positioning right on-spot as he catches the ball comfortably.

East Bengal tries to beat Shillong on the counter with Talal making a solo run along the left flank, as two SLFC players fail to track back on time. He sets up Nandha on the far post but his cross was too high for Nandha to wrap his foot around it.

Shillong gets a free-kick after Zothanpuia drags Buam down. Hardy takes the free-kick, which is headed out by East Bengal.

The ball possession swings from East Bengal to Shillong Lajong and back to EBFC, with the visiting side marching into the final third. Mahesh tries to beat Ronney and delivers a low cross, which Manas gobbles up easily. 

Ronney, who had fouled Mahesh a few minutes back, fouls him yet again and this time, the referee adds his name to his book, showing him a yellow card.

Ronney shrugs off Mahesh along the left and East Bengal gets another free-kick. Talal takes the free-kick, which is headed out by Shillong Lajong. And the host side goes for an attack on the counter immediately, which ends with Sana’s left-footed strike curls off-target.

Another low cross from Shillong, another porous defence by East Bengal. The cross beats two EBFC defenders, leaving one on the ground while the third, Lalchungnunga kicks it out of danger.

East Bengal tries to go on an attack with quick small passes, but Shillong clears it eventually. The ball, however, hits Sana’s arm for an EBFC free-kick. Talal takes the free-kick, with Hijazi as the target but Hijazi’s header is way off-target.

East Bengal looks hungrier in the starting seconds but it remains to be seen who has the last laugh at the JLN Stadium tonight.

Shillong Lajong remains in front, thanks to an eighth minute strike by Rudwere. East Bengal, despite having several chances to equalise, has failed to restore parity so far.

Talal is fouled again in front of the box and East Bengal get another free-kick, about 24 metres from goal. Talal takes the free-kick which is on target but lands into the gloves of Manas.

Talal brings down Rudwere this time with a late challenge and the referee books him right away. The East Bengal midfielder is furious with the decision and claps sarcastically to that booking.

Wadajied gets the ball in the midfield, staves off two East Bengal players to try and set up Rudwere with a pass. But East Bengal’s defenders track back on time, helping Gill take control of the balll.

Talal takes another free-kick and Jeakson rises to get his head to it. But he fails to keep the ball on target as Manas remains unperturbed by the attempt.

East Bengal tries to attack on the counter, with a through ball for Diamantakos. He gets to the ball but he is immediately flagged off-side.

East Bengal attacks again and this time Talal gets the ball in front of the goalkeeper and he chips the balls over Manas in a one-on-one situation. The ball rolls into the net by the linesman raises the flag to call the goal off-side.

Zothanpuia tries a right-footed curler from the left and Manas saves it easily. Seconds later, the goalkeeper at the other end is forced into action when Rudwere’s left-footed hit is saved by Gill.

East Bengal tries an attack along the left, with Diamantakos and Crespo combining along the left but the final shot fails to create any trouble for Shillong Lajong.

Shillong Lajong has gauged East Bengal’s strategy really well, limiting it to crosses and marking every potential target with a player behind them. And the result has been 1-0 in its favour so far.

East Bengal gets a free-kick around 42 metres away from the opponent’ goal and Talal takes it, finding Diamantakos. But the Greek forward’s header goes off-target.

Diamantakos sets up Nandha in the box and the Indian forward shoots on target, right into he gloves of Manas as East Bengal continues to look for an equaliser.

Shillong marches into the final third as one of their players sets up Rudwere in front of the box, but he slips and misses a sitter, which would have doubled the lead for the host side.

Gill hoofs the ball out of danger and East Bengal starts playing from the back. David gets the ball along the right and tries to cut back and shoot but lack of force sees Manas catch the ball comfortably.

Crespo and Nandha play out an overlap, with the latter delivering a cross for David at the back-post. But the Indian forward heads the ball downwards instead of straight and that puts the danger to bed through that development as coach Cuadrat shakes his head with a sigh.

Nandha makes a run along the left and tries to set up Diamantakos in the centre, with a cross to his right but Shillong Lajong is marking the former KBFC forward really well and clears the ball away.

East Bengal’s defence has looked very porous in set-pieces, so far in this match and Shillong looks to pile on misery at the slightest of opportunities.

Shillong Lajong gets another chance to score when Jeakson fouls a SLFC player along the left side. Hardy takes the free-kick, which after a couple of headers, is headed by Rudwere, with the ball hitting the woodwork. Shillong could have doubled the lead. Just poor luck in this case for the host side!

Talal gets the ball after Hardy fails to keep it to his fee and as Hardy tries to get it back, the challenge from behind gives East Bengal a free-kick. Talal takes the free-kick, which hits the wall.

David makes a darting run into the box, receives a pass from his left and sets up Nandha in front of goal. Nandha shoots but Aman puts his body on the lie to make a crucial block.

Jeakson tries to set up Zothanpuia on his left but the pass is overshot as the ball goes out of play before the full-back could actually reach it in time.

Madih Talal tries to set up Diamantakos in the box but Shillong Lajong intercepts the lobbed pass to head it away, out of danger.

Shillong is maintaining a low block to deny ground passes by East Bengal, which looks to have thwarted the attempts by David and Diamantakos so far.

East Bengal head coach Carls Cuadrat has been a coach known for his exploits through set-pieces, first as Bengaluru FC head coach and then with EBFC. Shillong looks to have taught him a lesson with his own tricks!

East Bengal looks to have been sunned by the early strike by the host side. It gets a free-kick, with Talal taking it. But his potential target, Saul, is marked well enough to stave off the danger.

Shillong is eventually growing into the game and gets a corner kick now. Hardy takes corner kick and Rudwere receives it to bury the ball into the net as Gill remains shell-shocked.

Shillong gets a free-kick outside the penalty box and Hardy steps up to take it. His righ-footed lobbed hit tries to create a set-piece attack, but the ball goes past the goal, with Gill quite happy to see it create no trouble at all.

East Bengal looks to have control over the ball from the starting minutes but it has, so far, failed to test the goalkeeper so far. 

The Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal begins between East Bengal and Shillong Lajong, with the former starting from right to left and the host starting from the other side.

The players walk into the pitch. The host side, Shillong starts in red while East Bengal starts in white.

Gill - Provat, Hijazi, Nunga, Zothanpuia - Jeakson - Saul, Talal - Nandha, David - Diamantakos

Shillong Lajong has two wins in its last five games and has two wins and a draw in Durand Cup 2024. It progressed to the quarterfinals of the tournament as the Group F topper.

East Bengal, the runner-up in the last edition of the Durand Cup, will look to improve on its previous performance this year when it faces Shillong Lajong in the quarterfinals, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, on Wednesday.

The Red-and-Gold Brigade was supposed to play its final Group stage match against Mohun Bagan Super Giant on August 18, but the match was abandoned due to ‘lack of adequate security’. As a result, both teams were awarded a point each, with East Bengal qualifying as one of the two best second-placed teams.

East Bengal has 16 Durand Cup titles under it belt, second only to city rival Mohun Bagan, which has won the prestigious trophy 17 times.

East Bengal will come into the knockout tie after a 3-2 loss against Turkmenistan side Altyn Asyr FC in the Preliminary 1 tie of the AFC Champions League Two (ACL Two).