Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Three Controversial Moments from Kolkata Derby

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Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal: Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal played a riveting first Kolkata Derby in the Matchday 13 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. The match finished with a 2-2 draw, which left fans of both sides with some awe-inspiring moments.

Ajay Chhetri opened the scoreline for East Bengal with a third-minute goal in response to a poor defense approach from Mohun Bagan. A fabulous volley from Armando Sadiku received by a cross from Brendan Hamill from the right flank helped the Super Giants level the scores going into halftime at 1-1.

East Bengal skipper Cleiton Silva converted a penalty with a stupendous panenka to restore the lead for his team. However, Austrian Dimitri Petratos scored just before three minutes from the final time to cancel his Brazilian counterpart’s penalty.

The draw helped East Bengal to earn first point against their city rivals since the two clubs played against each other in ISL in 2020. Without going into any more details, let’s take a look at three controversial moments during the recent Kolkata Derby.

Fights ignites flares

East Bengal full-back Nishu Kumar was involved in a tussle with Mohun Bagan Super Giants’ Brendan Hamill in the 47th minute. This happened in Mohun Bagan’s half when Nishu said something to the Austrian player following his two successful tackles against Manvir Singh and Armando Sadiku.

The two players had a brief stare at each other and before they could get anywhere physical, Hamill’s Mohun Bagan and Australian teammate Dimitri Petratos intervened to separate the two hot-headed players from opposite camps.

In the 61st minute Petratos pushed Sayan Banerjee down the ground, resulting in both sets of players involve in heated moments only for referees to separate them. There weren’t any cards displayed after Petratos’ push but Sayan was replaced with Vishnu TM by Carles Cuadrat.

Antonio Habas rubbishes East Bengal’s penalty goal

East Bengal captain Cleiton led the counterattack in the 53rd minute. He passed to Nandha Kumar, who crossed it to left but Sayan Banerjee missed the opportunity. However, the referee indicated a spot kick after Deepak Tangri fouled against Naorem Mahesh Singh.

Despite protests from Mohun Bagan players, the referee persisted with his decision. Consequently, Cleiton struck one past Vishal Kaith to regain the lead for the Red and Gold Brigade.

Antonio Lopez Habas, the current coach of Mohun Bagan Super Giants, wasn’t pleased with the decision to award the spot kick to their arch-rivals. After the match, the Spaniard alleged that the foul called by the referee was dubious.

Cuadrat claims foul on Nandhakumar during equaliser

Mohun Bagan Super Giants kept their unbeaten record against city rivals with a Dimitri Petratos equaliser with just three minutes left on the clock. Petratos pounced on the second ball to find the back of the net. Sahal Abdul Samad’s cross was intercepted by Jordanian Maher Hijazi.

However, Sahal seemingly jumped on Nandhakumar Sekar before Petratos received the ball. This pushed the East Bengal player down the ground. Coach Carles Cuadrat claimed that Sahal’s potential foul was turned to a deaf ear by the referee.