East Bengal defeated Northeast United in the penalties after a late goal from Nandha Kumar. At the end of the regulation time, the game was tied by 2-2 and a double miss from Parthiv Gogoi in the penalties saw East Bengal FC go through to the Durand Cup 2023 final.

Northeast United vs. East Bengal | First Half

East Bengal started with Nishu Kumar on the left and Nandha Kumar on the right; as expected from last night's training. Northeast United FC brought back Nestor Albiach and Manvir Singh to strengthen their attack. The red and yellow brigade started the match nervously as an early mistake in the third minute from captain Harmanjot Khabra gave Konsam Phalguni Singh an opportunity to make a run and give a pass to Manvir Singh whose shot went over the bar to give East Bengal relief. But, soon after that, East Bengal found their rhythm as Saul Crespo's long ball could have given Nadha Kumar on the right a chance to provide a cross to Mahesh waiting on the left. But, Nanda could not get the ball as it went for a goal kick.

Zabaco Tome's header gave the Highlanders a lead

In the 16th minute, East Bengal's first shot came from defender Jose Pardo whose long-range shot was saved by Mirsahd. Soon after that, Naorem Mahesh on the left made a beautiful turn to dodge the defenders but could not find anyone in the middle of the box to tap in for a goal. In the 22nd minute, against the run of play, Northeast United scored the first ball as Phalguni Singh provided a delicious cross to defender Zabaco Tome who headed the ball into the nets for the first goal of the match. Another goal in the tournament was led by a corner set piece.

However, East Bengal were not ready to give away that easily as in the 26th minute Mahesh provided a great cross from outside the boot towards Javier Siverio. But the Siverio could not connect with the header. In the next ten minutes, the game went a bit blunt as both teams failed to build up any attack in the middle. Nishu Kumar had a chance to be on target from the left but was saved easily by Mirshad in the 38th minute. The next minute, Mandar provided a cross from left for Siverio but he again failed to get the header in from the middle of the box. The first half ended in Northeast's favour as the results stayed 1-0 after the first 45 minutes.

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Northeast United vs. East Bengal | Second half

East Bengal started the second half with a double change to get back to their previous plan as Borja Herrera and Souvick Chakraborty were introduced replacing Nishu Kumar and Jose Pardo. In the 47th minute, Naorem Mahesh tried his luck with a long-range shot but it went straight into the hands of Mirshad. Meanwhile, Northeast replaced Nestor Albiach with Ibson Melo to bring some fresh legs.

In the 53rd minute, Mandar Rao from the left provided a great ball to Naorem Mahesh who sent a cross to Nandha Kumar on the right. However, Nandha could not get the shot in as it was blocked by defenders. But, again, in the 57th minute, Phalguni Singh scored one of the best goals of the tournament to give Northeast United the lead. Phalguni Singh from the right dribbled through defenders to create space for a left-footed shot into the right corner of the box. Mandar Rao saw Phaliguni get in the place to do Messi.

Read Also: No Sunil Chhetri: Igor Stimac accepts captain's request, announces 23-member squad for King's Cup

In the 66th minute, Mahesh had the opportunity to score for East Bengal but he could not get to the ball. Nandha again came with the cross from the right. Soon after that, in a counter-attack, Romain Philippoteaux nearly scored another splendid goal but that went just wide from the post. East Bengal started getting frustrated as a high-boot challenge from Javier Siverio saw him getting a yellow in the 72nd minute.

Naorem Mahesh's shot helped East Bengal make a comeback

East Bengal came back in the match with Naorem Mahesh providing the goal in the 77th minute. Saul Crespo gave the pass to Mahesh who was waiting in the middle to shoot. Mahesh's shot took a deflection from Dinesh Singh to get into the goal. Three minutes later, Cleiton Silva nearly got the opportunity to equalise, who nearly caught the defenders by surprise. In the 82nd minute, Siverio had the chance to shoot inside the box but failed to do so.

East Bengal kept Northeast defenders on the toe as Borja's cross from left nearly found Siverio in the box for a tap-in. In the 87th minute, East Bengal got another chance but Nandha's shot was not good enough to beat Mirshad. In the rebound ball, Siverio appealed for a penalty as he was pulled away by Tondonba.

Mandar creates magic at the last minute

The red and yellow brigade kept on attacking in the added minutes. In the 94th minute, Crespo could not get the shot in the goal from Nandha Kumar's cross. Minutes after, Zabaco Tome was shown a red card for fouling Siverio in the counterattack. East Bengal's long vigil came to an end with Nandha Kumar again doing wonders for his team. In the 96th minute, Crespo's shot was first saved by Mirshad. But the rebound ball went to Cleiton Silva who passed it to Nandha Kumar in the middle of the box. Nandha then did the rest of the job to take the game to the penalties.

Prathiv Gogoi missed the penalty for Northeast United as he hit the bar on the second attempt. East Bengal won by 5-3 in the penalties. This is East Bengal's first Durand Cup final after 2004. East Bengal will face the winner between FC Goa and Mohun Bagan Super Giant.

Scoring a hat-trick is considered one of the most significant achievements of a striker in football. In football leagues worldwide, we get to see the top-level strikers achieving multiple hat-tricks in their careers. 

In the Indian Super League, Nigerian striker Bartholomew Ogbeche has the record for scoring the most number of hattricks in the league. With Indian legend, Sunil Chhetri giving him a tough competition in the table, we present you players with the ISL stats of players with the most hat-tricks in Indian Super League history.

2 Hattricks | Stiven Mendoza, Dudu Omagbemi, Coro, Marcelinho, Modou Sougou 

Stiven Mendoza, Dudu Omagbemi, Coro, Marcelinho, and Modou Sougou have scored two hattricks in their ISL careers.

Mendoza, the Colombian left winger played for Chennaiyin FC on two stints; once in the 2013/14 season and again in the 2014/15 season. He scored 15 goals in 22 games and netted twice in three ISL playoff matches. 

He scored his first ISL hat-trick against FC Goa in Chennaiyin’s opening game in 2015. Mendoza scored his second hattrick, against Kerala Blasters in a 4-1 win.

Dudu, the Nigerian striker is one of the known faces in Indian football, having played for East Bengal and Salgaocar FC in the I-League. However, he played for FC Pune City, FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC in ISL. 

He scored his first ISL hat-trick against Mumbai City FC while playing for FC Goa, in 2015. His last hat-trick in the league came against Northeast United FC in a 3-3 draw for Chennaiyin FC in the 2016/17 season. 

Coro, the Spaniard spent three seasons in India with FC Goa from 2017-18 to 2019-20. In 50 ISL league games, he scored a stunning 47 goals while contributing 16 assists. He had scored back-to-back hattricks in his first season, one against Bengaluru FC, followed by one against Kerala Blasters. 

Marcelinho, the Brazilian winger started his ISL career with Delhi Dynamos in 2016, joined Pune City in 2017 and continued playing in India for Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, ATK Mohun Bagan and NEUFC. 

He scored one hat-trick against FC Goa for Delhi Dynamos and another against NEUFC for FC Pune City in 2017.

Modou Sougou, the Senegalese right winger played for Mumbai City FC in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons. He scored four goals in a match against Kerala Blasters in the 2018-19 season and scored his last ISL hat-trick against ATK in the same season. 

3 hattricks | Iain Hume and Sunil Chhetri 

One of the earliest stars of the Indian Super League, the Canadian striker, who had played for clubs like Leicester City, joined Kerala Blasters in the first season. In 2015/16, he moved to Atletico de Kolkata and won the league in 2016. Later, he rejoined KBFC, before finishing with Pune City. 

His fast ISL hat-trick came for Atletico Day, Kolkata against Mumbai City FC. His other hat-trick for ATK came against FC Pune City in the 2015-16 season.

Hume’s third hattrick was for Kerala Blasters against Delhi Dynamos in the 2017-18 season. 

Like Hume, Indian football legend, Sunil Chhetri has also scored 3 ISL hattricks in his career. The former India captain has scored the number of goals in the league’s history.

Chhetri became the first Indian player to score a hat-trick in ISL when he scored against Northeast United FC in the 2015/16 season for Mumbai City FC. 

In the 2017-18 season, Chhetri scored his second hat-trick against FC Pune City for Bengaluru FC. His latest hat-trick came against Kerala Blasters in 4-2 win for BFC. With this hat-trick, he has also become the oldest player to score a hat-trick in ISL history at 40 years and 126 days old.

Read Also | 10 Biggest Football Stars Who Have Played in ISL

4 | Bartholomew Ogbeche

The former Nigerian striker is one of the most successful footballers in ISL history. In 2018, he started his career in India with Northeast United and later moved to clubs like Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC.  

Bartholomew Ogbeche won the ISL Cup twice with Mumbai City FC and Hyderabad FC and the league once with Mumbai City FC. 

His first ISL hat-trick was against Chennaiyin FC for NEUFC in the 2018-19 season. Chennaiyin became his favourite opponent when he scored his second ISL hat-trick against the Kerala Blasters in the 2019-20 season. 

His third and fourth ISL hat-trick came for Hyderabad FC against East Bengal and FC Goa. 

ISL Hat-tricks FAQ

Odisha FC's star striker and the third highest goal scorer of Indian Super League (ISL) history, Roy Krishna has been sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a grade 3 ACL injury he sustained during the game against Hyderabad FC last week.

The Fijian striker had already scored three goals this season in ISL for the Juggernauts and has been one of the most impressive players in the league's history since he joined in 2019. He joined Odisha FC in 2023 after spending fruitful years with Bengaluru FC, ATK and ATK Mohun Bagan before joining the 2023 Super League winners.

Read Also | ISL transfer news: All completed transfers before ISL 2024-25

"We will miss him on the pitch:" Lobera

Roy was one of the key clogs in Sergio Lobera's plan and without him, they would have a gigantic boot to fill in. However, Lobera feels Roy's absence will not hurt the team that much as the team is focused on the challenges ahead. 

"It's sad news for the team. Roy is not just an incredible player but also a fantastic human being. We’ll miss him on the pitch, but I’m sure he’ll continue to support us off it. He’s one of the best professionals I’ve worked with, and I wish him a speedy recovery," Lpbera stated via an official press release by Odisha FC. 

"It’s not easy when you have just two training sessions, primarily focused on recovery and compensation. But we don’t make excuses. This is football, and we need to adapt. It’s another challenge for us to overcome, and I believe we’re ready," he added.

Odisha FC are currently 3rd in the ISL standings with 15 points from 10 matches after returning to winning ways against an in-form Bengaluru FC with a 4-1 win at home. Next, they will face Mumbai City FC on 5th December at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar. 

Read Also | I-League broadcast: Sony Sports Network will telecast the matches on TV from second round

Match Details:

Odisha FC vs Mumbai City FC
5th Dec | Thursday | 7.30 PM | Kalinga Stadium
Live on Sports18, JioCinema, Star Sports-3

Sony Sports Network is set to acquire the TV broadcasting rights of the I-League 2024-25 following the extensive feud between the I League clubs association and AIFF. 

SSEN acquired the OTT rights before and they will continue to stream the matches on its official app whereas Sony Sports Network Channels will broadcast the matches on TV. 

The I-League is about to kick-off from today but. the dispute between I-League clubs association and AIFF has delayed the TV broadcasting. Matches scheduled for first round will not be telecasted on TV but football fans can watch the I-League games live on TV on and from 29 November 2024. 

The I-League clubs association headed by Delhi FC owner Ranjit Bajaj announced in a letter to AIFF yesterday that the 12 I-League clubs have decided to boycott the league and they will not play unless the broadcasting issues are resolved. Shrachi Sports' venture SSEN also announced yesterday that fans can watch the matches 'only' on SSEN app which added fuel to the fire. 

However, in an overnight development, AIFF has finalized Sony as the TV broadcasting partner for the I-League 2024-25 and the clubs expect that over 100 of the scheduled 132 matches will be telecasted live on TV. 

Participating clubs will reportedly pay 12 Lakh rupees each to the Sony Sports Network to cover the broadcasting costs which does not include the participation fees of 7 Lakhs paid to the AIFF. 

The uncertainty regarding the broadcasting issues have finally been resolved and the I-League 2024-25 will start according to the announced fixtures. Sreenidi Deccan will take on Gokulam Kerala in a blockbuster opening game set to kick off today at 4:30 PM IST. Later today, Inter Kashi will face newly promoted Sporting Club Bengaluru in the second match of the opening day, scheduled to start today at 7:00 PM IST. 

Indian football fans better sit tight as one of the most prestigious accolades in Indian Football, the I-League 2024-25 is around the corner. Sreenidi Deccan will take on Gokulam Kerala tomorrow in Hyderabad in the opening match of this season.

From Complete fixtures to the participating teams, here is everything you need to know about the 18th season of the I-League.

Teams to participate in the I-League 2024-25

10 teams from the 2023-24 I-League will compete this season along with 2 teams that achieved promotion to the I-League from the I-League 2. 

2023-24 I-League 2 Champions Sporting Bengaluru and Runner-ups Dempo SC are the new inclusions this season.

• Aizawl FC

• Churchill Brothers

• Delhi FC

• Dempo SC

• Gokulamn Kerala

• Inter Kashi

• Namdhari FC

• Rajasthan United

• Real Kashmir

• Shillong Lajong

• Sporting Bengaluru

• Sreenidi Deccan

Teams to watch this season

Gokulam Kerala will be eyeing for their third I-League title after falling 10 points short of the champions Mohammedan SC. Gokulam finished third last season and they have to strong squad to compete under new manager Antonio Rueda Fernandez. Players such as Sergio Llamas, Martín Cháves, VP Suhair, and last season's Golden Boot winner Álex Sánchez will be crucial for Gokulam's journey this season.

Sreenidi Deccan, the runner-up of last season and the 2022-23 season as well, will suit up for the league title and they have retained the almost same squad from last season. Portuguese coach Rui Amorim has been appointed as the new coach and the Hyderabad-based club will leave no stone unturned for their title charge. Players like David Castañeda, William Alves, Brandon Vanlalremdika, and Eli Sabiá can make Sreenidi fans dream of their maiden I-League title.

Inter Kashi debuted in the 2023-24 I-League as a new inductee and finished in the 4th position. However, they have appointed Antonio Lopez Habas as the new gaffer who is arguably the best coach in ISL history. Mario Barco, Joni Kauko, and Nikola Stojanović will strengthen Kashi's squad whereas they have renowned Indian players such as Edmund Lalrindika, Arindam Bhattacharya, and Narayan Das. inter Kashi will be a very interesting team to watch this season. 

Churchill Brothers will again represent Goa after finishing seventh last season along with the Goa counterpart Dempo SC, the club that returned to the I-League after nine long years. Shillong Lajong displayed a good show of football in the Durand Cup 2024 and they hope to continue to do so. 

Previous Winners

Complete Fixtures 

Indian National Football Team head coach Manolo Marquez has called up FC Goa defender Jay Gupta ahead of the friendly against Malaysia on Monday. Defenders Aakash Sngwan and Asish Rai have left the national camp in Hyderabad due to injuries. 

#BlueTigers Update 🚨🇮🇳

Jay Gupta has joined the Indian squad in Hyderabad ahead of tomorrow's friendly against Malaysia. Aakash Sangwan and Asish Rai have been released due to injuries.#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/lRFJpohUCR

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) November 17, 2024

Jay Gupta made his national team debut against Kuwait in a goalless draw on 6 June 2024. The 23-year-old FC Goa defender plays as a left-back and he will replace his club teammate Aakash Sangwan who also plays as a left-back.

Asish Rai felt minor discomforts in the training sessions for his club Mohun Bagan ahead of their game against Hyderabad FC. However, he is knocked out of the national squad as well. 

Read Also | India vs Malaysia Friendly: Here are everything you need to know

Returning to the Indian national team 🇮🇳 after 10 months, @SandeshJhingan opened up about the recovery journey, regret of missing out on playing for the country & much more

Read more 🔗 https://t.co/I7KTWLg8KF

Watch full interview 👉 https://t.co/c6dQWjkL2Q#IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/N5qxkcGQ3Z

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) November 16, 2024

It will be interesting to see how Manolo Marquez is going to combine the defensive line-up against Malaysia. Sandesh Jhingan was called up for the national team after recovering from a long-term injury but Anwar Ali is likely to start against Malaysia. However, Subhashish Bose was dropped from the squad but Manolo still has options such as Chinglensana Singh, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, and Rahul Bheke. 

India squad against Malaysia 

Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith

Defenders: Anwar Ali, Chinglensana Singh, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Mehtab Singh, Rahul Bheke, Roshan Singh Naorem, Sandesh Jhingan, Jay Gupta

Midfielders: Brandon Fernandes, Jeakson Singh, Jithin MS, Lalengmawia Ralte, Liston Colaco, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Vibin Mohanan, Thoiba Singh

Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Irfan Yadwad, Farukh Choudhary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh

Match Details

Match: India vs Malaysia

Date: 18 November 2024

Time: 7:30 IST

Venue: GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad