1967–68 Durand Cup final

The 1967–68 Durand Cup Final was the 63rd final of the Durand Cup, the oldest football competition in India, and was contested between Kolkata giant East Bengal and Bengal Nagpur Railway on 11 January 1968 at the Corporation Stadium in New Delhi.

1967–68 Durand Cup Final
Event1967–68 Durand Cup
Date11 January 1968
VenueCorporation Stadium, New Delhi, India
RefereeTrilok Lao
Attendance15,000 (estd.)
← 1966
1968 →

East Bengal won the final 1–0 to claim their 5th Durand Cup title. Mohammed Habib scored the only goal in the final as East Bengal lifted their fifth Durand Cup title.[1]

Route to the final

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East Bengal Round Bengal Nagpur Railway
Opponent Result Round Opponent Result
Indian Navy 2–0 Second Round
Madras Regimental Centre 2–1 Quarter–Final Mohammedan Sporting 1–0
Hyderabad City Police 0–0; 1–0 Semi–Final Leaders Club 1–1; 3–2

Match

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Summary

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The Durand Cup final began at the Corporation Stadium in New Delhi on 11 January 1968 in front of a packed crowd as Kolkata giant East Bengal and faced Bengal Nagpur Railway. East Bengal reached their sixth Durand Cup final after defeating Hyderabad City Police 1–0 in the semi-final, having won the tournament previously in 1951, 1952, 1956, and 1960. Bengal Nagpur Railway made their maiden appearance in the final after they defeated Leaders Club 3–2 in the semi-final.[1]

The game started steadily with both teams being cautious in the first fifteen minutes. East Bengal, being the favourites, started dominating the game and the likes of K. Sharma, Ashim Bose and Sunil Bhattacharya all made attempts at the B. N. R. goal but could not break the deadlock. East Bengal made a substitution at halftime as S. Sarkar replaced Afzal and the change made an immediate impact on the game as S. Sarkar put a measured cross for Mohammed Habib who could not connect properly. The deadlock was finally broken in the fifty-sixth minute as Habib found the winner with a header to make it 1–0 for East Bengal. B. N. R. tried to make a comeback in the game after conceding the goal but the East Bengal defence dealt with the attacks and managed to hold onto the lead till full-time as East Bengal lifted their fifth Durand Cup title.[1][2][3][4]

Details

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East Bengal1–0Bengal Nagpur Railway
  • Habib   56'
Attendance: 15,000 (est.)
Referee: Trilok Lao
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
East Bengal
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bengal Nagpur Railway
GK   Peter Thangaraj
RB   Shanto Mitra
CB   Kalon Guha
CB   Syed Nayeemuddin
LB   Sunil Bhattacharya
CM   Prasanta Sinha (c)
CM   D.M.K. Afzal  
FW   Ashim Bose
FW   Mohammed Habib
FW   Parimal Dey
FW   K. B. Sharma
Substitutes:
CM   S. Sarkar  
Coach:
  Mohammed Hussain
GK   Dipak Das
RB   J. Lakra
CB   A. Dey
CB   Arun Ghosh (c)
LB   Kalyan Saha
CM   K. Tirkey
CM   N. Sengupta
FW   S. Das
FW   Rajendramohan
FW   P. Sur  
FW   P. Mazumdar
Substitutes:
FW   K. Appalaraju  
Coach:
  Arun Ghosh

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • Replay if scores still level.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Morrison, Neil (11 October 2022). "India - List of Durand Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. ^ "দ্বৈত কীর্তি, ইস্টবেঙ্গল সর্ব ভারতীয় ফুটবলের শিখরে" [Another Milestone, East Bengal are the Champions of India]. Jugantor (in Bengali). 12 January 1968.
  3. ^ PTI (12 January 1968). "East Bengal add Durand trophy to their collection". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  4. ^ Sen, Debayan (1 August 2020). "A century of excellence: East Bengal's greatest hits". ESPN. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
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