Durand Cup: Nandhakumar Sekar Ends East Bengal's 1658-day Wait To Beat Mohun Bagan

12.08.2023 - 14:47 sports.ndtv.com

Seasoned Nandhakumar Sekar enjoyed the most defining day of his football career with a swerving left-footer that ended East Bengal's 1658-day derby jinx as the red-and-gold brigade beat arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 1-0 in a Durand Cup match on Saturday.

The 60th minute goal also put Mohun Bagan's smooth entry into the quarter-finals on hold as East Bengal can pip them to a last eight spot if they happen to win against Punjab FC in their last group league encounter on Wednesday.

Mohun Bagan, who completed their group A outings with six points from three matches while East Bengal have four points from two games.

Six group toppers and two best runners-up make up the last-eight. Under Bengaluru FC's Indian Super League winning coach Carles Cuadrat, East Bengal looked much more compact and the forward lineup got back their usual flair with Nandhakumar's international class strike.

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