East Bengal's Dominant 8–0 Victory Over CISF Protectors
Kolkata did not get a contest. It got a demolition.
Four days after the sting of a derby defeat to Mohun Bagan Super Giant, Indian Super League champion East Bengal walked into the Kishore Bharati Krirangan carrying questions. It walked out having delivered an 8–0 answer, one of the biggest wins in Durand Cup history, with CISF Protectors left chasing shadows and their own breath.
Final Score: East Bengal 8 - 0 CISF Protectors
From derby hangover to early onslaught
The script before kick-off felt delicate. East Bengal, beaten 1–0 by Mohun Bagan SG in its opener, had not yet scored in the tournament. CISF Protectors had also lost their first match, 0–2 to South United. With only the group winner assured of a knockout place, this carried a do-or-die edge.
Antonio López Habas rang a quiet but telling change in goal, handing a start to summer signing Phurba Lachenpa. Ahead of him, the Red-and-Gold Brigade came out with intent, pressing high, pinning CISF back, and whipping crosses into the box from the first whistle.
Inside four minutes, the tone was set. Edmund bent in a cross, and Vishnu launched into an acrobatic effort that crashed off the post. The woodwork saved CISF then; it would not keep bailing them out for long.
East Bengal swarmed. Hardik and Sandip Mandi pushed on from full-back, Edmund and Vishnu buzzed between the lines, and Dani Ramirez began to dictate the tempo. CISF’s plan was obvious: sit in a low block, clear the danger, survive. For a while, they did.
Goalkeeper Raj Mathur stood between the flood and the dam breaking. He clawed away a long-range hit from Vishnu, then produced a double save around the half-hour mark, first attacking a cross bravely and then blocking a fierce drive from Rashid. Seconds later he denied Dani from a free-kick, diving low to keep the scores level.
But the pressure kept climbing. The breakthrough felt inevitable.
Vishnu lights the fuse
In the 38th minute, it came. Edmund again found space on the flank and drove into the box, cutting the ball back with purpose. Vishnu, alive to the angle and the moment, improvised brilliantly, guiding a back-heel finish into the net. A flourish, but also a release. East Bengal finally had its first goal of the Durand Cup.
CISF, already stretched, began to crack. The defending grew frantic, clearances more hopeful than planned. East Bengal’s high line meant every loose touch became a trigger to attack.
On the stroke of half-time, the champions struck again. Deep into added time, Dani Ramirez drew both Raj and defender MD Khalid towards him, then slipped a simple pass to the unmarked Jeakson Singh. The India midfielder tapped in from close range to make it 3–0, the cushion inflated by an earlier own goal, and the contest effectively over by the break.
The derby hangover? Gone.
Overhead kicks and open floodgates
If CISF hoped for a quieter second half, Vishnu had other ideas. Just two minutes after the restart, Sandip Mandi lifted a cross from the left. Vishnu met it with an audacious overhead kick, steering the ball past Raj for his second of the night. 4–0, and the gulf in class suddenly felt enormous.
From there, East Bengal began to toy with their opponent.
Hardik tried his luck from distance, whistling one just wide. Lalchungnunga, a centre-back by trade, strode forward and rattled the post after Raj got a touch. Seconds later, Jesin was denied by the keeper, and Edmund saw another effort crash off the woodwork. The Protectors were hanging on, but only just.
Habas turned to his bench, sending on Bipin Singh and Rohit Kumar. The change did nothing to soften the assault; it sharpened it. CISF’s legs tired, the lines stretched, and East Bengal found even more space to run into.
Bipin joins the party, Jesin breaks loose
On 64 minutes, the pressure told again. East Bengal sprang another counter, slicing through a defence caught high and disorganised. A cross from the right found Bipin arriving at the far post, and he calmly tucked the ball away to make it 5–0. A simple finish, but another dagger to CISF’s already fragile morale.
By now, the champions were chasing not just points but history. The margin had begun to flirt with the tournament record — a 9–1 win for Dempo SC over Real Kashmir in 2016 — and every attack carried that edge of ambition.
Jesin, who had been involved without reward, finally found his goal in the 70th minute. Released by a through ball on the right, he outpaced the defence, glided past Raj and drilled a low shot into the net. 6–0. The scoreline now matched the pattern of the game.
CISF’s heads dropped. After the second-half hydration break, their body language told the story: shoulders slumped, challenges half-hearted, passes misplaced. East Bengal smelled blood.
Two in two minutes, hat-trick complete
The closing stages turned brutal.
In the 76th minute, Jesin struck again. He beat Raj once more, adding a second to his tally and pushing the score to 7–0. CISF barely had time to reset before the ball was in their net yet again.
Two minutes later, Bipin swung in a cross and Vishnu, still hungry, arrived to steer it home. That sealed his hat-trick and East Bengal’s eighth of the night. What had started as a must-win group match had become an exhibition.
With the record margin in sight, East Bengal kept pushing. They earned a late corner, Bipin whipped it in, and a teammate headed off target. It was one of the few moments all evening when CISF could claim a small victory.
Referee Jehrul Islam’s final whistle came as a mercy for the Protectors. For East Bengal, it felt like a curtain call on a statement performance.
Group table, shifting mood
The 8–0 rout lifts East Bengal to second in the group, above South United, though still behind Mohun Bagan SG on head-to-head after that opening loss. The final group-stage match against South United now looms large — not just for qualification, but for momentum heading into the season.
CISF, already beaten twice, stares at what looks like the end of its Durand Cup road. The task does not get kinder: Mohun Bagan SG awaits in its final group game.
On another ground, Shillong Lajong quietly took care of business, beating Nongkseh SS&CC 2–0 with goals from Mylliempdah and Lamurong to go top of their group. Efficient, controlled, professional.
But in Kolkata, this was something else. This was a champion side, stung by a derby defeat, reminding the tournament what it can do when the gears mesh and the finishing is ruthless.
If this is how East Bengal responds to a setback, what happens when the stakes rise and the knockouts arrive?
