East Bengal FC Beat Indian Army 1-0 to Reach Durand Cup 2026 Semi Finals

East Bengal FC secured their place in the semi-finals of the 135th Durand Cup after edging past a determined Indian Army FT 1-0 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday (August 16).

The decisive moment came in the 38th minute when P.V. Vishnu rose above the Indian Army defence to head Christopher Ikonomidis’ cross into the right corner. The goal proved enough to settle a closely contested knockout encounter and keep East Bengal’s Durand Cup campaign alive.

East Bengal started brightly and immediately looked to dictate the tempo. Dani Ramirez was at the centre of much of their attacking play, with the Kolkata side repeatedly finding space around Indian Army’s compact defensive block.

Ramirez had an early opportunity in the sixth minute, while his free-kick six minutes later came agonisingly close to finding the target after beating goalkeeper Bhabindra Malla Thakuri.

The pressure continued to build. Ramirez released David Lalhlansanga in the 20th minute, but the striker could not finish the move. Lalchungnunga then tested Thakuri from distance, forcing the Indian Army goalkeeper into an excellent save.

East Bengal came closest to scoring in the 29th minute. Jay Gupta produced a precise cross towards Vishnu, who was left with a clear chance inside the box, but his low effort went straight at Thakuri.

Vishnu made no mistake nine minutes later. Ikonomidis floated a dangerous delivery into the penalty area and Vishnu timed his run perfectly before sending a firm header towards the right corner. Thakuri got a hand to the ball but could not prevent it from finding the net.

Indian Army returned from the interval with greater attacking ambition. They won an early corner and began to push further forward, although East Bengal’s defence remained largely comfortable.

East Bengal almost doubled their lead around the hour mark. Substitute Jesin TK capitalised on a mistake and raced beyond the advancing goalkeeper, but his effort struck the crossbar.

Indian Army then created their clearest opportunity of the match when substitute Abhi S. Biju unleashed a low effort that narrowly missed the target.

East Bengal continued to threaten but failed to add to their lead. In the end, a 1-0 victory was enough for the Red and Gold brigade to advance to the semifinals. They will now take on SC Delhi on Wednesday in the semifinal of the competition.