12 years of wait. 12 years of agony. 12 years of despair. East Bengal with Carles Cuadrat end it all tonight and enter Asia yet again.
With an extra-time victory over Odisha FC, East Bengal broke their 12-year national trophy drought. Cleiton Silva’s goal in the 111th minute made it 3-2, and Carles Cuadrat’s team won the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup.
The 10-man Odisha team saved East Bengal’s victory in regulation time with an injury time penalty, but the Kolkata giants emerged victorious. The match was full of drama. East Bengal’s victory in the Super Cup also gets them into the 2024–25 AFC Champions League 2 preliminary stages.
Against all odds, East Bengal was supposed to give up the ball before the game, but they got off to a strong start, keeping the in-form Odisha at bay. These restrictions were mostly caused by Souvik Chakrabarti’s excellent man-marking work on.
The pivotal moment of the first half, though, occurred in the 39th minute when Diego Mauricio scored his first goal of the game when he pounced on a hard touch from Borja Herrera in the box. The advantage belonged to the home team going into halftime, however it could have been greater had Mauricio not missed further opportunities to score.
The game totally shifted when Naorem Mahesh Singh entered the game at halftime, as East Bengal’s assaults were more cutting edge. Seven minutes into the second half, it paid off as Mahesh ducked under Jahouh’s attention before laying a lovely through pass to Nandhakumar Sekar, who was rushing beyond the defence. In order to equalize, the East Bengal winger wrapped around Mawia Ralte in the Odisha goal and placed the ball inside the goal.
At the hour mark, Mourtada Fall gave up a penalty for a careless dive on Borja Herrera in the box, even though there was little to no contact. East Bengal took the lead when Saul Crespo stepped up to take the spot-kick and sent Ralte the wrong way. The horrific night of Fall concluded withThe defender received a second yellow card in the 69th minute for raising his elbow in an attempt to win a header.
Even though Odisha was down to 10 men, East Bengal chose to hold onto their lead and give up more ground in an effort to end a 12-year national trophy drought.
Prabhsukhan Gill continued to try to eat up time as the game entered seven minutes of injury time, but with only seconds remaining, he was forced to pay the price. Mauricio was sent through on goal by Roy Krishna’s brilliant first-time ball down the right channel, but the Odisha striker was taken down by a charging Gill, giving up a penalty. When regulation time was about to expire, Ahmed Jahouh took the field and struck an icy Panenka to tie the score for Odisha and break the hearts of the East Bengal supporters in the stands.
Souvik Chakrabarti hit the bar with a cutback, giving Carles Cuadrat’s team a one-man advantage that almost paid off. Both sides were down to ten men when he was sent off a few moments later.
Mawia Ralte threw the ball across goal to Narender Gahlot in the box, but as the Odisha defender took a touch and turned, he noticed Cleiton Silva closing down on him. This was the story’s last twist. In the 111th minute, East Bengal took the lead when the Brazilian super tackled the defender to steal the ball.
A scared Ralte then charged in and skillfully placed the ball under the Odisha keeper from a tight angle as it trickled into the net.The entire East Bengal bench went to the corner flag to celebrate with a sliding Cleiton, setting off scenes of frenzied joy.
Odisha was thoroughly outclassed, and East Bengal managed to survive a tense final ten minutes to ultimately snap their trophy drought. When the final whistle rang, the red and gold supporters in the stands rejoiced because it was their first Kalinga Super Cup since 2012.
EAST BENGAL HAVE WON THE SUPER CUP! 12 YEARS OF PAIN, 12 YEARS OF SUFFERING, 12 YEARS FOR THEIR FANS OF WAITING TO HEAR THE WORDS “EAST BENGAL ARE CHAMPIONS”.
Excellent goals, absurd red cards, mind-numbing errors—this had it all. The match was deserving of a championship. East Bengal was so close to missing out on it in regulation time, but in the end they ended up on the right side of it. After Mauricio’s opener, Nandha and Saul altered the tide of the match, setting up Jahouh’s penalty to tie the score. Ultimately, Narender’s error determined the outcome of the match. East Bengal are the champions after Cleiton seized on it and finished with precision.
East Bengal are champions, what a night for the club and their fans. Cleiton Silva is now a name that will never be forgotten in that club’s folklore.
It was an absolute pleasure bringing you the action from tonight’s final. Until next time, it’s goodbye from us, goodnight, take care.