East Bengal win Calcutta Premier Division league title

Kolkata, Sep 17: City giants East Bengal got past Tollygunge Agragami 2-1 to annex their fifth back-to-back and 36th overall Calcutta Football League Premier Division crown here Tuesday.

Prolhad Roy and Nigerian striker Ranti Martins found the target for the winners while Bello Rassaq struck for the ultimate losers at the largely attended Yuva Bharati Krirangan encounter with all the goals coming during a six-minute spell in the opening session.

East Bengal drew first blood at the half-hour-mark with Roy reaching a loose ball and slamming it home from close.

But hardly had the cheers in the gallery subsided that Tollygunge restored parity. Rassaq brilliantly headed home a Mohan Sarkar flag kick in the 33rd minute, creating euphoria among the numerous fans of Mohun Bagan, who would have bagged the title had the crucial tie ended in a draw.

Rassaq, however, made a horrible mistake three minutes later that made him a villain in the eyes of the same Mohun Bagan supporters. The Nigerian's wrong header saw Ranti go for a prompt header that entered the net foxing an advancing Tollygunge goalkeeper Raju Ganguly.

East Bengal thus got the pole position collecting 25 points, one more than arch-rivals Mohun Bagan.

Tollygunge, who were the leaders for a major part of the tourney, ended third with 22 points.

East Bengal have been winning the title every year starting from 2010.