It's Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal In Durand Cup Final On 'Super Sunday'

Albanian Armando Sadiku shrugged off his poor form to inspire Mohun Bagan to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over FC Goa in the Durand Cup semifinal on Thursday. The win paved the way for a fairytale Durand Cup finale on 'Super Sunday' as it set up Mohun Bagan's derby showdown against arch-rivals East Bengal in a repeat of 2004 final. A compact and defence-heavy FC Goa drew the first blood with their Moroccan midfielder Noah Sadaoui's 23rd minute strike. Mohun Bagan took the penalty route to restore parity with Jason Cumming scoring from the spot in the 42nd minute in what appeared to be a contentious call by referee Ashwin.

Four minutes after he replaced Hugo Boumous, Armenian substitute Sadiku overcame criticism to score the most-important goal of his career at the Mariners. He capitalised on a Sandesh Jhingan howler to strike home the lead -- and eventual winner -- in the 61st minute.

Ferrando bolstered his defence in the final minutes, bringing in Brendan Hamill and Liston Colaco to stave off the wave of attacks from the Goans.

Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith also should be credited for saving a sure-shot goal when he thwarted a Jay Gupta header in the 90 2nd minute.

This was Mohun Bagan's first Durand Cup final after 2019 when they lost to Gokulam Kerala.

In 2004 also, Mohun Bagan had lost to East Bengal 1-2. They are yet to win the silverware since 2000 when they had defeated Mahindra United via golden goal.

Both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have won the Durand Cup 16 times each.

The Manolo Marquez-coached Gaurs looked far superior both in the midfield and defence, dishing out a compact play.

The FC Goa coach had a defence-heavy tactic against the home side, pressing five in the backline with Spaniard Odei Zabala, Seriton