KOLKATA: Goalkeeper Vishal Kaith came up with a couple of gamechanging saves in the shootout for the second match running, as Mohun Bagan completed a 4-3 win on penalties in their Durand Cup semifinal against Bengaluru FC after being 2-2 in regulation time at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.
Jose Molina’s side will take on NorthEast United FC in the final on Saturday, looking to defend their title and extend their reign in Asia’s oldest football tournament.
Yet again Mohun Bagan’s title defence looked to be in tatters when Bengaluru shot to a two-goal lead, thanks to Sunil Chhetri’s penalty in the 42nd minute and Vinith Venkatesh’s goal 5 minutes after the break. But a perfect penalty conversion from Dimitri Petratos in the 68th minute handed the defending champions a lifeline. And Aniruth Thapa made it 2-2 in the 84th minute with a piledriver out of nowhere.
Kaith — who orchestrated a similar comeback for his team five days ago, effecting a couple of saves in a sudden-death win over Punjab FC in the quarterfinals — took the centrestage again as another penalty shootout ensued.
Kaith’s show-stealing performance in back-to-back matches came after Bagan goalkeeper failed to make the new India coach Manolo Marquez’s list of probables for next month’s Intercontinental Cup.
