Shillong Lajong vs East Bengal LIVE: SLFC 1-0 EBFC, Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal, Rudwere scores for Shillong

East Bengal attacks again and this time Talal gets the ball in front of the goalkeeper and he chips the balls over Manas in a one-on-one situation. The ball rolls into the net by the linesman raises the flag to call the goal off-side.

Zothanpuia tries a right-footed curler from the left and Manas saves it easily. Seconds later, the goalkeeper at the other end is forced into action when Rudwere’s left-footed hit is saved by Gill.

East Bengal tries an attack along the left, with Diamantakos and Crespo combining along the left but the final shot fails to create any trouble for Shillong Lajong.

Shillong Lajong has gauged East Bengal’s strategy really well, limiting it to crosses and marking every potential target with a player behind them. And the result has been 1-0 in its favour so far.

East Bengal gets a free-kick around 42 metres away from the opponent’ goal and Talal takes it, finding Diamantakos. But the Greek forward’s header goes off-target.

Diamantakos sets up Nandha in the box and the Indian forward shoots on target, right into he gloves of Manas as East Bengal continues to look for an equaliser.

Shillong marches into the final third as one of their players sets up Rudwere in front of the box, but he slips and misses a sitter, which would have doubled the lead for the host side.

Gill hoofs the ball out of danger and East Bengal starts playing from the back. David gets the ball along the right and tries to cut back and shoot but lack of force sees Manas catch the ball comfortably.

Crespo and Nandha play out an overlap, with the latter delivering a cross for David at the back-post. But the Indian forward heads the ball downwards instead of straight and that puts the danger to bed through that development as coach Cuadrat shakes his head with a sigh.

Nandha makes a run along the left and tries to set up Diamantakos in the centre, with a cross to his right but Shillong Lajong is marking the former KBFC forward really well and clears the ball away.

East Bengal’s defence has looked very porous in set-pieces, so far in this match and Shillong looks to pile on misery at the slightest of opportunities.

Shillong Lajong gets another chance to score when Jeakson fouls a SLFC player along the left side. Hardy takes the free-kick, which after a couple of headers, is headed by Rudwere, with the ball hitting the woodwork. Shillong could have doubled the lead. Just poor luck in this case for the host side!

Talal gets the ball after Hardy fails to keep it to his fee and as Hardy tries to get it back, the challenge from behind gives East Bengal a free-kick. Talal takes the free-kick, which hits the wall.

David makes a darting run into the box, receives a pass from his left and sets up Nandha in front of goal. Nandha shoots but Aman puts his body on the lie to make a crucial block.

Jeakson tries to set up Zothanpuia on his left but the pass is overshot as the ball goes out of play before the full-back could actually reach it in time.

Madih Talal tries to set up Diamantakos in the box but Shillong Lajong intercepts the lobbed pass to head it away, out of danger.

Shillong is maintaining a low block to deny ground passes by East Bengal, which looks to have thwarted the attempts by David and Diamantakos so far.

East Bengal head coach Carls Cuadrat has been a coach known for his exploits through set-pieces, first as Bengaluru FC head coach and then with EBFC. Shillong looks to have taught him a lesson with his own tricks!

East Bengal looks to have been sunned by the early strike by the host side. It gets a free-kick, with Talal taking it. But his potential target, Saul, is marked well enough to stave off the danger.

Shillong is eventually growing into the game and gets a corner kick now. Hardy takes corner kick and Rudwere receives it to bury the ball into the net as Gill remains shell-shocked.

Shillong gets a free-kick outside the penalty box and Hardy steps up to take it. His righ-footed lobbed hit tries to create a set-piece attack, but the ball goes past the goal, with Gill quite happy to see it create no trouble at all.

East Bengal looks to have control over the ball from the starting minutes but it has, so far, failed to test the goalkeeper so far. 

The Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal begins between East Bengal and Shillong Lajong, with the former starting from right to left and the host starting from the other side.

The players walk into the pitch. The host side, Shillong starts in red while East Bengal starts in white.

Gill - Provat, Hijazi, Nunga, Zothanpuia - Jeakson - Saul, Talal - Nandha, David - Diamantakos

Shillong Lajong has two wins in its last five games and has two wins and a draw in Durand Cup 2024. It progressed to the quarterfinals of the tournament as the Group F topper.

East Bengal, the runner-up in the last edition of the Durand Cup, will look to improve on its previous performance this year when it faces Shillong Lajong in the quarterfinals, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, on Wednesday.

The Red-and-Gold Brigade was supposed to play its final Group stage match against Mohun Bagan Super Giant on August 18, but the match was abandoned due to ‘lack of adequate security’. As a result, both teams were awarded a point each, with East Bengal qualifying as one of the two best second-placed teams.

East Bengal has 16 Durand Cup titles under it belt, second only to city rival Mohun Bagan, which has won the prestigious trophy 17 times.

East Bengal will come into the knockout tie after a 3-2 loss against Turkmenistan side Altyn Asyr FC in the Preliminary 1 tie of the AFC Champions League Two (ACL Two).