Four teams qualify for Durand Cup 2023 East Bengal, North East United, FC Goa, and Mohun Bagan. The 2023 Durand Cup semi-final between East Bengal and North East United was played on 29 August 2023 at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Stadium in Kolkata.
Whereas East Bengal had their traditional red and golden kit and North East United had a white kit. This is the first match for Kolkata Highlanders as earlier they have seen Guwahati in all group matches or semi-finals.
North-East coach Benali said before the match started – “This semi-final is not just any other match. Fighting with the home team of Kolkata in front of their fans, we are here to represent our region and fight for our people. Our fans believe in us and we want to make them proud. We will give it our all and make history”.
Nishu Kumar and Naurem Mahesh Singh are managing the operations of Red and Golds. East Bengal vs. North East started.
The game was very tight with no one able to score against each other. North East managed only one goal till half time. After half-time, North East managed to score another goal against East Bengal.
The words of the North-East United coach seemed to be very similar and came as a disappointment to the people of Kolkata and the supporters of East Bengal.
Some of the East Bengal supporters had given up hope but some were still hopeful because there was no telling when the game would turn. Finally, the game started to take a different turn. By the 75th minute, there was a look of disappointment on the faces of the East Bengal supporters on the field. In the seventy-sixth minute, East Bengal scored the first goal against North East. East Bengal was looking for a glimmer of hope, but after a long struggle, no one could score. For the second time, East Bengal again scored a goal against North East in 96 minutes and 50 seconds. The scorecard was 2 – 2.
This time the playground became completely silent, the most encouraging and thoughtful moment was the last extra time. Since the score was a tie, it was a very tough time deciding who would win and who would lose.
Penalty shootout result – East Bengal scored a total of 5 goals and North East scored 3 goals. So finally East Bengal won. It was a hard-fought battle and the last minute of the game changed the whole complexion of the game. It’s a very happy moment for Kolkata football fans.
