Kolkata, Oct. 8 -- Riding on Samir Zeljkovic's solitary strike, Mohun Bagan Super Giant retained the IFA Shield with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over arch-rivals East Bengal in a fiercely contested Kolkata Derby at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Thursday.
Bosnian midfielder Zeljkovic scored the decisive goal in the 45th minute, converting shortly before the interval to give the Mariners their 22nd IFA Shield title.
This is the 22nd time that Mohun Bagan claimed the prestigious tournament and after nearly five decades that they have won the Calcutta Football League (CFL) and IFA Shield in same season.
Last time they achieved the feat, late PK Banerjee was the coach in the year 1976. It was far from a fluent performance from either side, but Mohun Bagan looked considerably
more assured than they had in the Durand Cup final earlier this season, when East Bengal had inflicted a 4-1 defeat on their city rivals.
Zeljkovic broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time after controlling a chipped pass from Sahal Abdul Samad on his chest before calmly slotting the ball past the East Bengal goalkeeper.
The goal gave Mohun Bagan a crucial advantage in a game that remained tightly contested after the break, with East Bengal pushing for an equaliser but failing to find a way past the Mariners' defence.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.