East Bengal vs Punjab FC Live Score, Durand Cup 2023: EBFC 1-0 PFC at FT; EB qualify for quarters

East Bengal 1-0 Punjab FC at FT: Live coverage ends!

That's all from the Kishore Bharati Krirangan as the Group A of the Durand Cup 2023 culminates with East Bengal going through! Mohun Bagan finished second in the group but are likely to progress to the top two runners-up as they have six points and a goal difference of 6! We have to wait till the end of group stages for a qualification!

HUGE CELEBRATIONS AT FULL TIME!

Fans are too pleased as there is loud cheer among crowds to celebrate another big win early in the season! It's East Bengal 1-0 Punjab FC at Full Time!

FULL TIME!

The referee blows the final whistle! EAST BENGAL ARE THROUGH TO THE QUARTERFINALS! First half goal by Siverio seals the deal for the Kolkata Giants as they pip Mohun Bagan to go top in Group A!

Smart play by East Bengal!

90+4' East Bengal are playing short passes among each other to slow down the tempo of the game and kill as much as time possible by holding the ball! Punjab FC tired legs are unable to press high like they did early in the game!

Six minutes of stoppage time!

90+1' East Bengal continue to dominate play and have six further minutes to hold and seal their quarterfinal berth!

Durand Cup 2023 Live Updates: East Bengal 1-0 Punjab FC

90' Punjab FC evaded further danger as the resulting corner fell to Nunga loose! He shoots to the goal but his shot was deflected for another corner! The second corner was skied high by Nandha straight to goalkeeper!

Cleiton's shot deflected off target!

88' Nandhakumar runs up the left flank and beat his marker to send in a cross for Cleiton inside the box! The Brazilian shoots weak with his left foot and it hits a defender to go out for a corner!

Two more changes by Carles Cuadrat!

85' Mohammad Rakip and Suhair join to play in place of Nishu Kumar and Noarem Mahesh Singh! Meanwhile, Edwin Vanspaul sends in a cross from the right flank for Cleiton but Nikhil dived to cut the supply!

Apologies

84' Our apologies for the delay in coverage as network issues at the Stadium caused a delay! East Bengal are making changes at the moment, details to be share next!

CLEITON MISSES A BIG CHANCE!

78' The Brazilian made the most of the mistake committed by Punjab defender Nikhil near the box as he lost the ball. Cleiton ran clear to the goal to shoot but gave the ball straight to the keeper for an easy save! That may come back to bite EBFC late in the game!

Cleiton Silva almost scores from first touch!

74' The resulting freekick sailed just over the crossbar as Cleiton curled the ball using his left foot from a tight angle! Could have been his first goal of the sesaon from the first touch!

Two more changes by East Bengal!

72' Souvik and Siverio are done for the night! Cleiton Silva to play his first game of the season for EB while Edwin Vanspaul join the midfield! Meanwhile Mahesh wins another freekick right outside the box as Lungdim blocked a cross with his hand at the edge of the box!

Another change by Punjab FC!

69' Amarjit Singh Kiyam joins in place of former EB player Brandon! Meanwhile Mahesh Singh plays Souvik free on the left flank following a build-up but Souvik couldn't fire in a cross as the ball goes out for a goalkick! Shows how toothless EB attack has been in the second half!

East Bengal make first change!

66' Borja Herrera is taken off and is replaced by Jose Pardo, a defensive midfielder! Punjab FC currently have the momentum of attack in their favour as they see long period of possession but East Bengal are holding the defensive line well!

Borja fouled outside the box!

64' Big opportunity for East Bengal as Borja is fouled right outside the box by Lhungdim on the left flank! Borja delivers a quality ball from the freekick but a Punjab FC defender heads the ball away to start a counter!

Two changes by Punjab FC!

61' Juan Mera and Krishnanda are taken off! They are replaced by Samuel and Prasanth! Meanwhile Punjab win a corner as well but the quality of the delivery wasn't up to the mark!

East Bengal 1-0 Punjab FC

59' Mahesh, Borja and Saul Crespo are overloading the left side to connect and create chances but despite their coordination, the quality of delivery in the final third is lacking!

132nd IndianOil Durand Cup: EBFC 1-0 PFC

55' Play is halted momentarily after Prabhsukhan goes down on the ground claiming to be injured as the goalkeeper fumbled the ball while collecting a header but swiftly dived to collect it on the ground before Ashis Pradhan nearby could get a touch!

YELLOW CARD FOR PUNJAB FC!

49' Melroy fouls Saul Crespo 40 yards away from the goal and is shown a yellow card! The resulting freekick was taken by Borja, who hits it too heavy out of play for a goal kick!

YELLOW CARD FOR NUNGA!

47' The East Bengal centre-back sees yellow card for time wasting as the referee wasn't happy to see Nunga take so long to resume play from a long freekick!

2nd half begins!

46' The second half gets underway and it begins with early midfield battle between both the sides!

Durand Cup 2023 Live Updates: East Bengal 1-0 Punjab FC

East Bengal are glad to take lead in a first half that saw both chances have clear cut chances to score goals. Punjab FC were impressive with their high pressing and created early chances but East Bengal had the experience and quality to finally find a breakthrough and find that opening goal from set piece as Spanish duo Borja and Siverio combined for the sole goal of the match so far. Siverio later hit the post again in the closing stages of the half as well but PFC ended the half strongly by gainining momentum in the half!

HT| Good going, polas! Let’s carry the momentum into the 2️⃣nd half!#DurandCup #JoyEastBengal #EmamiEastBengal #IndianFootball #EEBFCPFC pic.twitter.com/tqizxfhk1K

— East Bengal FC (@eastbengal_fc) August 16, 2023

East Bengal vs Punjab FC Live: EBFC 1-0 PFC at Half Time

Half Time Stats

Half Time!

No further trouble for East Bengal in the half as the referee blows the half-time whistle! Javier Siverio's header from corner give East Bengal a goal lead at the break!

East Bengal vs Punjab FC Live: EBFC 1-0 PFC

45+2' Juan Mera hits the freekick over the bar as he couldn't find the accuracy to find the far post top corner! Punjab are pushing for that equaliser really hard in the closing minute while East Bengal are trying to see out the remaining minutes of the first half!

Brandon misses big opportunity!

45+1' Krishnananda sends in a low cross inside the box and it eventually falls to Brandon, who shoots to the goal but his shot was deflected away for a corner! Meanwhile three minutes of stoppage time added as Punjab win freekick in a dangerous position!

Siverio hits the post!

40' Mahesh is played free on the left flank with a nice diagonal pass and the winger makes the most of it by sending in an early cross for Siverio waiting inside the box! The Spanish striker shakes off his marker to head the ball for the bottom corner but it hits the post and goes out of play! Should have been 2-0 there!

East Bengal vs Punjab FC Live: EBFC 1-0 PFC

39' Opportunity for Punjab on their right flank as Krishnananda is nicely played through to send in a cross but the winger lacked accuracy as the ball swirl away for a goalkick!

Mahesh goes down inside the box!

35' The East Bengal winger makes a terrific run on the left flank to catch Punjab FC on the counter! He was shadowed by Lunghdim and Mahesh goes down inside the box following a duel but the referee waves play on! Replays confirm there was no contact from the defender, fans at the stadium are not happy though!

End-to-end play!

33' Borja makes a run on the counter but is taken down at the edge of the box by Punjab defender Nikhil! However, the referee waves play on! Juan Mera makes most of the opportunity to run up the right flank and send in a dangerous cross! Jordan Elsey was alert to head it away before Nandhakumar Sekar took the ball away from the box to safety!