East Bengal cruise to victory in last group game

Kolkata: East Bengal FC grounded the Indian Air Force football team (IAF FT) 6-1 in a Durand Cup 2025 Group-A match at the Kishore Bharati Stadium here on Sunday, maintaining a perfect record in its group-stage campaign.

East Bengal took the lead through Hamid Ahadad in the seventh minute before Bipin Singh (25th minute), Anwar Ali (63), Mohammad Rashid (68), Saul Crespo (85) and David Hamar (90+1) scored one apiece to complete its dominance. Aman Khan scored the only goal for IAF FT.

This created the scope for the season’s first full-scale Kolkata Derby as East

Bengal joined its traditional rival Mohun Bagan Super Giant, the topper from Group B, in the list of quarterfinalists. With the organisers not specifying the quarterfinal pairings before the start

of the tournament, it is understood that the two group toppers of the city will stay back to meet each other in the quarterfinal scheduled here on

August 17.