Minerva Punjab FC wins the Hero I-League beating Churchiil Brothers 1-0, NEROCA finishes second.

The wait, anticipation and excitement of the penultimate matchday of Hero I-League finally drawn to a conclusion as the complex calculations of other three teams winning the League was nullified by an outright win for Minerva FC. A 16th-minute strike by William Opoku was enough to see the Punjab side winning the Hero I league with 35 points.

Minerva FC started the League brilliantly but lost momentum in the latter part as they started to the surrender advantage losing to East Bengal and Chennai City FC.

But Minerva managed to get their acts right in their final game as they managed to beat Churchill Brothers to secure the Hero I League title with a fairly dominant display finishing three points clear of NEROCA FC.

In the other game, East Bengal against NEROCA FC ended in a 1-1 draw as Odilli Felix Chidi's 42nd-minute goal was cancelled out by Dudu Omagbemi's 73 rd minute header as East Bengal failed to break the deadlock ensuring a second-place finish for NEROCA with 32 points.

Having a slender lead by one goal, NEROCA FC closed the game early in the second half to settle for a draw due to the fact that Minerva was 1-0 ahead and the Manipur side did not want to risk their second place standing by going for an open attacking game with the risk of conceding.

As Mohun Bagan failed to beat Gokulam Kerala FC despite having a lead from Dipanda Dicka's headed goal on the 25th-minute which was cancelled out by Henry’s goal just on the stroke of halftime from a defensive error. Mohun Bagan finished the league with 31 points, level on points as East Bengal but sneaked past their Kolkata rival East Bengal on the league table due to a better Head to Head record to finish third, as East Bengal finished fourth.

Now the focus shifts on the Super Cup's inaugural edition where 16 teams from Indian Super League and I-League will battle it out in the final round which is expected to start on 31st March 2018 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

East Bengal draws 2-2 with Lajong FC, stays pinned at third on the league table.

The crucial away game of East Bengal against Lajong on Monday was anticipated to be a defining encounter in the Kolkata side's title chase as they desperately needed to win the game to keep their title destiny in their own hands before the final encounter against NEROCA FC.
The ebb and tide of the Hero I League unfolded yet another drama as East Bengal salvaged a 2-2 draw against Lajong on Monday to relinquish the advantage they had at the start of the game as a doubleheader from Dudu Omagbemi on 20' and 87' was canceled out by Lajong's Aiban on 49' and Samuela on 69' as both sides settled for a 2-2 draw.

The script for the dramatic encounter was set from the start as East Bengal needed to secure 6 points before the game to win the league without depending on the results of other teams.
Both teams had a positive start to the game as free-flowing football descended at the JLN Stadium under lights as both went in for the early goal to take the control of the game.The battle soon became evident as East Bengal's midfield engine of Al Amna, Katsumi, Lobo, and Brendan took the compact defensive formation of Lajong led by their talismanic captain Samuel.
East Bengal opted for a 4-4-1-1 as Kromah tucked in behind Dudu Omagbemi as to take the attacking duties along with Kevin Lobo and Mahmoud Al Amna to construct attacking build up from the center of the park.
The game started at a fast tempo and 20-minutes down the clock East Bengal opened the scoring as Dudu Omagbemi sneaked in behind the defenders to head in from a flawless cross down the left channel from Chullova to put East Bengal ahead in the game.
Lajong had their moments in the game as Samuela's well-connected shot barely managed to glaze the woodwork before going out as East Bengal went into the break with a slender 1-0 lead.
Back in the second half, the home side started to take the attack to the East Bengals half as Odafin's shot from Koffi's assist landed wide off the target.
Lajong's illusive equalizer finally came on 49th minute from a freekick as Saihou Jagne was brought down in the attacking third and Samuela delivered a teasing cross into the box and it took faintest of headed deflection from Aiban to land at the back of the net as Lajong drew level 1-1 on the 49th minute.
As East Bengal kept the pressure on Lajong, chances started to come in a flurry as Brandon Vanlalremdika had two decisive attempts on goal saved by  Nidhin Lal's acrobatic attempts to keep East Bengal at bay.
Lajong on the other end looked to catch East Bengal off-guard on the break as Koffi managed to follow a long ball into the box and managed to hold off three East Bengal defenders around him.
Koffi managed to play the ball to Samuel but young Left-back Mahtab Singh's unnecessary tackle on Samuela resulted in referee pointing to the spot for a penalty. Samuel himself stepped up to the spot to hammer it past Ubaid to give Lajong the lead on the 69th minute.
As Lajong looked to ease away with all three points, East Bengal struck back in the 87th minute through Dudu Omagbemi's second header of the game as the striker gleefully headed in from Kromah's flick to put East Bengal at 2-2.
As East Bengal pushed men forward in search of the winner, Lajong caught East Bengal on the counter as Samuel managed to break free in the 95th minute and laid it off to Abdoulaye Koffi but the Ivorian failed to put the game to bed as the weak left footer went wide.
As the clock ticked by, both teams had to settle for a 2-2 draw which is a huge blow to East Bengal's title campaign whose fate lies entangled in a myriad of permutations and combinations added with the results from other teams. 
The first four teams in the league table are separated by just 2 points going into the final game of the I League on 8th March 2018 as all four contenders would contest on the final match day to seal the fate of the I-League which is expected to go all the way down the wire.

East Bengal Steamrolls Chennai City FC 7-1, Claims Second Spot On The league Table.

The roller coaster season in the Hero I-League took yet another dramatic turn as East Bengal pummelled Chennai City FC 7-1 to claim the second position in the League table surpassing Minerva Punjab FC.
Dudu Omagbemi was the star of the goal-fest with four goals on 32', 49', 56' and 61' while Al-Amna scored the opening goal on the 20', debutant Gabriel scored the final goal for East Bengal on the 84th minute.
 Dharamraj Ravannan scored an own-goal earlier as Chennai City FC managed to pull one back goal through Mashoor Thangalakath in the 59th minute as the Chennai boys were humbled at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
East Bengal handed Kromah a place in the starting eleven alongside Al-Amnah, Kevin Lobo, and Katsumi Yusa.East Bengal midfielders took control of the game from the start as Amnah and Kromah orchestrated the attacks building up to the Chennai City box as East Bengal pressed Chennai deep into their half.
The opening goal came in the 20th minute as Lalram Chullova released a long ball from deep into the East Bengal half to Al-Amna who fended off a challenge from Veniamin Shumeiko to find space in the box but his shot was saved by Chennai keeper Kabir twice but Mahmoud Al Amnah made no mistake in his third attempt with his left-footed effort to give East Bengal 1-0 lead.
The second goal came on 23rd minute as Chullova made a darting run from the left wing to deliver a low cross and Dudu was lurking in the six-yard box as Dharmaraj Ravanan tried to steer the ball away but ended up putting it into his own goal as Chennai slumped to a 2-0 deficit within the half-an-hour mark.
As East Bengal kept the momentum going forward they were rewarded by the third goal in the 32nd minute as Mahtab Singh and Katsumi exchanged couple of passes pushing forward and right back Mahtab Singh released another long ball into the box and Chennai City center-back Veniamin Shumeiko made an error of judgement expecting keeper to collect the long ball but Dudu Omagbemi showed his poaching skills as he squeezed between the defender and goalkeeper to collect the loose ball rounded off the keeper and slotted in a calm finish to put the game beyond Chennai FC with a 3-0 lead.
Trailing by three goals at the break, in the second half just four minutes into the game Dudu Omagbemi scored his second goal on the 49th minute with a thunderous shot from inside the box to rattle the top-corner of the net after picking up from a ball from Al-Amna who wriggled his way into the box  to score East Bengal's fourth goal of the afternoon.
Chennai City FC looked hapless, as the match was on a one-way traffic and it wasn't long before in the 56th minute, Dudu Omagbemi scored his hattrick from a brilliant through ball from Ansumanah Kromah as he found space between Ravanan and Edwin Vanspaul and tucked it off with a sublime finish to the right of the keeper to make it 5-0 close to the hour mark.
Chennai City FC managed to pull one back as Mashoor Thangalakath scored from a volley inside the box within a minute of coming on as a substitute as the game still tilted heavily in the favor of East Bengal at 5-1 by the hour mark.
East Bengal was in no mood to relent the pressure as they attacked in number from the flanks and down the center as Chennai FC found it difficult to thwart the never-ending wave of attack.Dudu Omagbemi was ruling the roost on the field as he picked up his fourth goal on the 61st minute from  Katsumi Yusa corner as Chennai defenders failed to clear the ball and Dudu took advantage of the indecision to direct the ball into the back of the net to give East Bengal a massive 6-1 lead.
Khalid Jamil sensing the blood of the opposition wasn't happy to sit back and went for the kill as he introduced attacking midfielder Gabriel Fernandes and Jobby Justin to add more venom to the attack and pick up on the goal difference should that be a factor in the closing stages of the league.
The positive move from the Khalid Jamil paid-off as debutant Gabriel Fernandes repaid the Coach's faith by scoring his first and East Bengal's seventh goal on the 84th minute with a right-footed curler just outside the box landing at the top right corner leaving the Chennai keeper Kabir with no chance to stop it.
As the referee blew his whistle to end the Chennai City FC's ordeal, East Bengal has now placed themselves as serious contenders for the title as they breathe on the shoulders of NEROCA FC and pipped MINERVA FC by the virtue of better "head-to-head" record with 29 points from 16 games.
As the season draws to it's close the three horse race between Eat Bengal, Minerva FC, and NEROCA FC is expected to go down the wire for a nervous finish but Minerva FC holds the advantage of having three remaining games including two at home as East Bengal will have to make the tricky trip of Shillong against Lajong followed by the final game against contender NEROCA FC at home on 8th March 2018 at 3 P.M.

East Bengal beats United SC 4-3 in a seven goal thriller to regain top position on the CFL League table.

East Bengal showed relentless tenacity to win a seven goal thriller to overhaul a 3-1 deficit to win the match by 4-3 margin at the CFL encounter against United SC at Barasat Stadium.East Bengal were looking a shadow of their dominant self that fans are accustomed to in CFL a league that East Bengal have made their own over last 6 editions.United SC without their T.D. Subrata Bhattacharya were expected to be steam rolled in this encounter but what unfolded at the Barasat stadium was no less than dramatic in the folklore of Bengal football history. Manotosh of United SC opened the scoring with a brilliant effort from 20 yards out as the striker rattled the bar and the ball eventually landed at the back of the net to make 1-0.
East Bengal were 1-0 down till half time as drama unfolded right at the start of second half as 3 minutes into second half Dika made it 1-1,United SC looked dangerous on the break as they caught East Bengal defence napping earning a penalty as Amod Mahato was brought down by East Bengal keeper while trying to salvage a disastrous backpass.Bello made it 2-1 from the spot at 53 minutes.
As East Bengal looked to pressed forward in search of an equalizer United SC seized the opportunity with a brilliant counter attack as Budhiram Tudu found space down the flank made a darting run towards the box and his measured pass found VP Suhair who gave United a 3-1 lead at 63 minutes with a neat finish.
East Bengal looked hapless at this point as United looked more and more dangerous at this point and the could have easily increased the margin.Morgan was forced to make some tactical changes bringing in Du Dong and Prahlad Roy as East Bengal pressed harder in search of leveling the deficit and  it paid rewards immediately as Bello fouled Dika inside the box giving East Bengal a crucial penalty and Dong made no mistake to make it 3-2 for the Red and Gold.Suddenly,East Bengal found their rhythm and pace in the game as 6 minutes later Arnab made it 3-3 with a towering header from the corner.
United SC seemed to lost their plot as they abandoned their usual style of play and looked to salvage a point and East Bengal pressed harder with waves of attack eventually the United SC defence failed to cope with pressure as Dika made it 4-3 at 88 minutes to give East Bengal a dramatic 4-3 win and keep their dream of winning the league for record 7 times alive !!

2016 Calcutta League Premier Division: East Bengal beats Army XI 2-1 in a tough encounter at Barasat stadium,

Two first half goals from Rahul Bheke(18') and Arnab Mondal (30') helps East Bengal beat Peerless SC 2-0 to climb to Top of league table as Dong misses penalty