Kolkata, Aug 6 (IANS) East Bengal FC edged past a gritty Namdhari FC side 1-0 in a tense Group A clash at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on Wednesday, moving within touching distance of a place in the knockout stages of the 134th Durand Cup.

The victory, powered by debutant Hamid Ahadad’s second-half strike, was the Kolkata giant’s second win on the trot and took them to the top of the group standings.

Making his first appearance for the Red and Gold brigade, Moroccan forward Ahadad came off the bench to score the decisive goal in the 68th minute, finally breaking through a wall of Namdhari resistance and a string of heroic saves by goalkeeper Niraj Kumar.

Head coach Oscar Bruzon rotated his side after their opening win, making four changes including a start for Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos, Brazilian playmaker Miguel Figueira, and winger Bipin Singh. Namdhari, missing suspended defender Manbir Singh, brought back skipper Akashdeep Singh and striker Manish Chaudhary in a restructured XI.

From the opening whistle, East Bengal dominated possession and peppered the Namdhari goal. Niraj Kumar was called into action as early as the ninth minute, denying Diamantakos with a brave dive at his feet. The goalkeeper would go on to frustrate the hosts time and again — cutting out a dangerous ball from Bipin, saving a powerful shot from Mohammed Rashid, and stopping efforts from Crespo and Mahesh.

Miguel Figueira came closest to opening the scoring, rattling the post twice and then striking the crossbar with a thunderous header in the 42nd minute. But despite the siege, Namdhari’s compact low block and Niraj’s brilliance kept the game goalless at half-time.

East Bengal resumed control after the break, with Diamantakos and Figueira continuing to probe, while Namdhari offered a brief spark when Dharmpreet Singh shot wide from their only major second-half chance.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 68th minute. Substituted in just seven minutes earlier, Hamid Ahadad capitalised on a Figueira corner that was misjudged by Niraj and calmly nodded in at the far post, marking a dream debut and giving East Bengal the breakthrough they had worked so hard for.

The result sees East Bengal lead Group A with six points and a +6 goal difference, while Namdhari — with six points from three matches and a +3 GD — remain in contention for the quarterfinals as one of the potential best second-placed teams.

–IANS

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