Fatorda (Goa) [India], December 4 : Punjab FC went down to East Bengal 3-1 in an exciting first semifinal of the AIFF Super Cup, which was played here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on Thursday.
Mohamad Basim Rashid, Kevin Sibille and Saul Crespo scored for the winners while Daniel Ramirez converted a penalty for the Punjab FC, as per a press release.
Punjab FC head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis continued to keep his faith in his Indian players, starting only three foreigners, while East Bengal Head Coach Oscar Bruzon began to five. Dilmperis started the game in 3-5-2 formation with Bijoy Varghese, Suresh Meitei and Pramveer Singh starting in the back three. Leon Augustine and Ricky Shabong started as the wingbacks, and Samir Zeljkovic, Vinit Rai and skipper Nikhil Prabhu occupied the centre of midfield. Nsungusi Jnr Effiong started as the striker, with Daniel Ramirez taking the playmaker's role behind him.
Punjab FC started the match on the front foot, creating a couple of chances inside the first five minutes, but Pramveer could not direct his header towards goal from a free kick, and seconds later Ricky Shabong skied his left-footed shot from inside the penalty box.
East Bengal took the lead in the 12th minute through Mohamad Basim Rashid, whose powerful shot from the edge of the box found the net past the goalkeeper. The midfielder received the ball on the edge of the box after Punjab cleared the initial corner kick, but the defence were slow in closing down the Palestinian, who unleashed his shot which found the goal through a host of bodies.
Punjab worked hard after going behind to come back into the game, and the effort paid off when Bipin Singh was awarded a penalty after handling the ball inside the box while trying to stop a cross from Ricky Shabong. Daniel Ramirez converted the resultant penalty with ease, sending Prabhsukhan Gill the wrong way to level the scores. The midfielder could have doubled the lead after a few minutes, but his effort went wide of the goal.
East Bengal retook the lead in the third minute of injury time of the first half after centre defender Kevin Sibille leapt the highest head in Miguel Ferreira's corner. Meanwhile, East Bengal Head Coach Oscar Bruzon was shown the red card at the end of the first half for dissent towards the referees.
Dilmperis made two attacking changes at the start of the second half, bringing in Muhammad Suhail and Bede Amarachi Osuji in place of Vinit Rai and Pramveer Singh and also changed the formation to 4-2-3-1. The first chance in the second half came for the Red & Gold Brigade as Bipin Singh's shot was saved by Muheet Shabir, and Ibusuki could not guide the follow-up into the goal. The Shers settled into the game, and Suhail came close to levelling the score, but his left-footed shot curled away from the far corner.
East Bengal then increased their lead in the 71st minute through their captain, Saul Crespo. Miguel Ferreira showed good feet to dodge two defenders and set up Crespo, whose powerful left-footed shot found the bottom corner beyond the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper. The two-goal lead allowed East Bengal to remain compact in defence and manage the game. Osuji did have a chance in the final minutes of the game, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper, and Daniel Ramirez's shot went above the crossbar moments later.
In the end, East Bengal maintained their two-goal lead to book their place in the finals, and Punjab FC also left being proud for their first-ever Super Cup semifinal appearance.
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