KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting fell short of retaining the Calcutta Football League (CFL) crown with an all-win record, coming from a goal down to snatch a 1-1 draw with East Bengal at the Kishore Bharati Stadium on Tuesday.
Mohammedan Sporting went into the final game of their league campaign having already sealed the championship by dint of their three successive wins in the Super Six stage. But Andrey Chernyshov’s side fell behind to Vivek Singh’s 34th-minute goal as East Bengal looked to spoil the black-and-white brigade’s title party.
Stung by the reversal, Mohammedan Sporting kept raiding the rival box in search of a goal. They eventually notched up the equalizer in the final minute of regulation time. Ousmane Ndiaye flicked a right-wing cross on to the path of Faslu Rahman, and the latter came up with a composed finish.
Mohammedan Sporting could have even ended up winning the game but were denied by the woodwork at the death.
Chernyshov’s side finished their Super Six campaign with 10 points, three points ahead of runners-up Bhawanipore Club. If the draw in their final match came as a small fly in the ointment of Mohammedan Sporting’s success, the result left East Bengal with a bigger embarrassment.
Although playing the tournament with a reserve team, Bino George’s red-and-gold team ended their campaign with just three draws. This is for the first time in the CFL history, East Bengal finished the tournament without a single win.
With ATK Mohun Bagan deciding against taking part, the CFL championship race turned out to be a five-team affair.
