Durand Cup 2022: ATK Mohun Bagan edge narrow victory over East Bengal courtesy Passi own goal

In Durand Cup 2022, ATK Mohun Bagan emerged victorious in the first Kolkata derby of the 2022-23 Indian football season after it beat Emami East Bengal 1-0 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata on Sunday.

The only goal of the game came through a Liston Colaco corner which was turned in by the Red and Blue attacker Sumeet Passi for an own goal.

ATK Mohun Bagan's win was tragically realised by an own goal coming from East Bengal forward Sumeet Passi in the injury-time of the first half.

This was the sixth straight win for ATK Mohun Bagan which has been winning every meeting against East Bengal since January 2020.

Watched by a capacity crowd of around 65000, the match failed to reach the desired height as the classical opponents struggled to find form in the attacking third. ATK Mohun Bagan enjoyed a slight edge in the creative part as it started assailing East Bengal with greater frequency. But the goal remained elusive as the East Bengal defence stood up to the challenge and kept its box sealed from ATK Bagan's attackers for the most part of the game.

ATK Mohun Bagan had the first good opportunity off Ashique Kuruniyan but the winger could not keep his attempt on target despite showing quick feet to elude the East Bengal defence.

The goal finally happened in injury time when a corner taken by Liston Colaco was missed by the first line of East Bengal defence and the ball sneaked through to hit Passi and deflect inside the goal.

Mohun Bagan had more chances after the break but missed the presence of a positive striker after having released the Fijian forward Roy Krishna the previous season. East Bengal, which adopted a counter-attacking approach, had some chances but none of them was sharp enough to beat the ATKMB goalkeeper Vishal Kaith.

Mohun Bagan tallied four points from three matches after the win while East Bengal remained on two points from three matches to virtually see its Durand Cup hopes vanishing.

ATK Mohun Bagan Club Senior Official Debashish Dutta said after the victory "Six consecutive victories in the derby felt like hitting six sixes in an over!".

ATKMB captain Pritam Kotal said post-match that achieving success in the upcoming AFC tournament is the main goal and they are very happy to be back in front of the home fans, especially after a victory.

East Bengal Coach Stephen Constantine said that the boys will get a day off tomorrow. He is pleased with his team's effort.

He also praised the packed crowd within the stadium for the support.

ATK Mohun Bagan registered the fifth straight win in Kolkata Derby over East Bengal with a goal from Sumeet Passi in the extra time of the first half of the Durand Cup 2022 match. East Bengal and ATK Mohun Bagan faced each other in Kolkata Derby after a really long time.

Sunday, January 19, 2020, was the last time the City of Joy, Kolkata witnessed the prestigious, historic, and most energetic encounter of Indian football – the Kolkata Derby. Cut back to August 28, 2022, the derby is back in the city.

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