<p>A moment of sheer brilliance from Dimitri Petratos proved decisive as 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat arch-rivals East Bengal 1-0 in a fiercely contested final to clinch Durand Cup title for the first time after 23 years here on Sunday.</p><p>Mohun Bagan were one-man down after Anirudh Thapa was sent off in the 62nd minute, but they still scored the decisive goal through a brilliant solo effort from Petratos in the 71st minute.</p><p>In a swift counter-attacking move, the Australian player skilfully weaved past the East Bengal defence, before unleashing a powerful strike from 25 yards out. East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill was left a mute spectator.</p><p>This was Mohun Bagan's 17th Durand Cup title. They last won the title in 2000 when they beat Mahindra United via a golden goal.</p><p>As the clock ticked away, East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat made three changes, bringing in Nishu Kumar, VP Suhair and Edwin Vanspaul in the last 10 minutes in a bid to restore parity.</p><p>His Mohun Bagan counterpart Juan Ferrando pressed eight players into his defence with Anwar Ali rock solid in the middle.</p><p>In a heated exchange, East Bengal’s assistant coach Dimas Delgado got into a war of words with Ferrando, and after a scuffle, the former received a red card in the second-half extra time.</p><p>In the 86th minute, Edwin Vanspaul attempted a shot on target from outside the box, but Anwar Ali was quick to react, making a timely block to deny East Bengal any chance of an equaliser.</p><p>Mohun Bagan thus avenged their 2004 Durand Cup final defeat to East Bengal when they had lost 1-2.</p><p>In this phase, Mohun Bagan had lost three Durand Cup finals, the last being against Gokulam Kerala (1-2) in 2019.</p><p>From East Bengal's perspective, a national-level title continued to elude them for more than 11 years now. Their last title at senior-level remains the Federation Cup in 2012.</p><p>Both sides came close to scoring but none could make use of their chances to see a goal-less first 45 minutes.</p><p>Sahal Abdul Samad got the ball at the edge of the box. Since he was surrounded, he got it to Petratos in front of him with a straight pass and the Australian tried a shot. But the ball flies just over the crosspiece in the first-half injury time.</p><p>Just before that, last derby hero Nandhakumar Sekar and Siverio failed to strike from two back-to-back chances after East Bengal attacked on the counter with Rakip and Borja combining on the right flank.</p><p>At the hour mark, Mohun Bagan missed a sitter with Hugo Boumous fluffing it in front of the goal post.</p><p>Petratos delivered a high ball to Manvir on the right, as the second-half substitute who replaced an off-color Ashish Rai, set it up perfectly for Hugo inside the box.</p><p>But Hugo made a mess of an easy finish and the goal-less stalemate continued.</p><p>Just two minutes later, Mohun Bagan were reduced to 10 players when Anirudh Thapa was sent off for his tackle on Siverio.</p><p>The India midfielder tried to get the possession of an aerial ball and his high boot hit the Spaniard on his head in a tackle that seemed purely unintentional.</p><p>But the East Bengal forward went down wreathing in pain and Thapa was shown his second yellow card by referee Rahul Gupta.</p>
<p>A moment of sheer brilliance from Dimitri Petratos proved decisive as 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat arch-rivals East Bengal 1-0 in a fiercely contested final to clinch Durand Cup title for the first time after 23 years here on Sunday.</p><p>Mohun Bagan were one-man down after Anirudh Thapa was sent off in the 62nd minute, but they still scored the decisive goal through a brilliant solo effort from Petratos in the 71st minute.</p><p>In a swift counter-attacking move, the Australian player skilfully weaved past the East Bengal defence, before unleashing a powerful strike from 25 yards out. East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill was left a mute spectator.</p><p>This was Mohun Bagan's 17th Durand Cup title. They last won the title in 2000 when they beat Mahindra United via a golden goal.</p><p>As the clock ticked away, East Bengal coach Carles Cuadrat made three changes, bringing in Nishu Kumar, VP Suhair and Edwin Vanspaul in the last 10 minutes in a bid to restore parity.</p><p>His Mohun Bagan counterpart Juan Ferrando pressed eight players into his defence with Anwar Ali rock solid in the middle.</p><p>In a heated exchange, East Bengal’s assistant coach Dimas Delgado got into a war of words with Ferrando, and after a scuffle, the former received a red card in the second-half extra time.</p><p>In the 86th minute, Edwin Vanspaul attempted a shot on target from outside the box, but Anwar Ali was quick to react, making a timely block to deny East Bengal any chance of an equaliser.</p><p>Mohun Bagan thus avenged their 2004 Durand Cup final defeat to East Bengal when they had lost 1-2.</p><p>In this phase, Mohun Bagan had lost three Durand Cup finals, the last being against Gokulam Kerala (1-2) in 2019.</p><p>From East Bengal's perspective, a national-level title continued to elude them for more than 11 years now. Their last title at senior-level remains the Federation Cup in 2012.</p><p>Both sides came close to scoring but none could make use of their chances to see a goal-less first 45 minutes.</p><p>Sahal Abdul Samad got the ball at the edge of the box. Since he was surrounded, he got it to Petratos in front of him with a straight pass and the Australian tried a shot. But the ball flies just over the crosspiece in the first-half injury time.</p><p>Just before that, last derby hero Nandhakumar Sekar and Siverio failed to strike from two back-to-back chances after East Bengal attacked on the counter with Rakip and Borja combining on the right flank.</p><p>At the hour mark, Mohun Bagan missed a sitter with Hugo Boumous fluffing it in front of the goal post.</p><p>Petratos delivered a high ball to Manvir on the right, as the second-half substitute who replaced an off-color Ashish Rai, set it up perfectly for Hugo inside the box.</p><p>But Hugo made a mess of an easy finish and the goal-less stalemate continued.</p><p>Just two minutes later, Mohun Bagan were reduced to 10 players when Anirudh Thapa was sent off for his tackle on Siverio.</p><p>The India midfielder tried to get the possession of an aerial ball and his high boot hit the Spaniard on his head in a tackle that seemed purely unintentional.</p><p>But the East Bengal forward went down wreathing in pain and Thapa was shown his second yellow card by referee Rahul Gupta.</p>