East Bengal Dominates CISF Protectors 8-0 in Durand Cup
The Kishore Bharati Krirangan has seen its share of drama. On this humid Kolkata night, it witnessed a demolition.
Stung by a derby defeat to Mohun Bagan Super Giant and still goalless in the Durand Cup, Indian Super League champion East Bengal walked in under pressure. It walked out having delivered one of the most brutal routs in the tournament’s history, an 8-0 dismantling of CISF Protectors that felt, at times, like a training drill played at full speed.
PV Vishnu led the charge with a hat-trick, Jesin TK helped himself to a brace, and there were goals for Jeakson Singh and Bipin Singh, plus an own goal, as Antonio López Habas’ side tore through a tiring, overmatched defence.
This was not a response. It was a statement.
A Cagey Start, Then the Dam Breaks
For 30-odd minutes, CISF Protectors did what underdogs are supposed to do. Sit deep. Stay compact. Survive.
They lined up in a clear low block, black shirts crowding their own box as East Bengal, in white, swarmed forward. Early signs of what was coming flickered into view: in the 4th minute, Vishnu went acrobatic off an Edmund cross and smacked the post. At 10 minutes, Edmund cut the ball back for Jeakson, who dragged his shot just wide.
Raj Mathur, CISF’s goalkeeper, kept them alive. He made a regulation stop from Jesin in the second minute, then pulled off a double save around the half-hour mark, first claiming a cross and then blocking a shot from Rashid. Minutes earlier, he had denied Vishnu from distance, palming away a fierce drive.
For a while, it looked like East Bengal might need to grind. Habas’ side pinned CISF back, but the final touch eluded them. The derby defeat and the goalless start to the tournament hung in the air.
Then, in the 38th minute, the pressure finally told.
Edmund drove into the box and cut the ball back. Vishnu, alive to the angle, met it with a clever back-heel that rolled past Raj and into the net. A touch of flair, a release of tension. East Bengal 1-0 CISF, and the champions had their first Durand Cup goal of the season.
CISF’s resistance began to fray. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Dani Ramirez drew both Raj and defender MD Khalid towards him and slipped a simple pass to the unmarked Jeakson. The India midfielder tapped in from close range to make it 3-0 after an earlier own goal had doubled the lead. The contest, in truth, was already gone.
Vishnu Takes Centre Stage
If the first half was about breaking down the block, the second half was about punishment.
Within two minutes of the restart, East Bengal turned the night into a spectacle. Sandip Mandi swung in a cross from the left, and Vishnu met it with an overhead kick, steering the ball into the net. A flourish worthy of any stage, and his second of the evening.
CISF’s heads dropped. Their lines stretched. Space opened up all over the pitch, and East Bengal started to toy with them.
From distance, Hardik went close, his right-footed effort whistling just wide. Lalchungnunga clattered the post after another surge forward. Jesin saw one shot saved by Raj, Edmund struck the woodwork seconds later. Every attack felt like it might end in a goal.
Habas began to rotate, sending on Bipin Singh and Rohit Kumar for Dani and Rashid just before the hour mark. The fresh legs did not ease CISF’s burden. They made it worse.
The Floodgates Open
At 64 minutes, the scoreboard started to run away.
An East Bengal counter ripped through CISF’s shape, the champions breaking with pace and precision. A cross from the right found Bipin, who arrived to tuck the ball into the net for 5-0. The move was simple, ruthless, and it underlined the gulf between the sides.
By now, CISF Protectors were chasing shadows. Their earlier discipline had dissolved into survival.
Jesin, who had been buzzing around the box all evening without reward, finally got his moment in the 70th minute. Released down the right by a through ball, he drove into the area, beat Raj and smashed a low shot into the net. East Bengal 6-0 CISF, and the scoreline started to resemble a cricket score more than a football match.
The humiliation deepened.
At 76 minutes, Jesin struck again, beating Raj once more as the Protectors’ back line crumbled. Two minutes later, Vishnu met a cross from Bipin and steered it home to complete his hat-trick and make it 8-0. Two goals in two minutes, and the atmosphere in the stadium shifted from tension to disbelief to celebration.
For CISF, every restart felt like a formality. For East Bengal, every attack looked like a chance.
History in Sight, Morale Restored
As the minutes ticked away, East Bengal kept hunting. The margin of victory edged close to the biggest in Durand Cup history – a 9-1 win for Dempo SC over Real Kashmir in 2016 – and the champions pushed for more.
Hardik tried from range. Crosses kept flying in from both flanks. The crowd roared each time the ball went near the CISF box. The Protectors, their morale “languishing on the floor,” as the live commentary aptly put it, could barely get out of their half.
They survived without conceding a ninth, but “survived” felt like the only accurate word. When referee Jehrul Islam finally blew for full-time, CISF’s 90 long minutes of suffering ended at last.
For East Bengal, this was the perfect medicine after the Kolkata derby loss. The win lifted it to second in the group, above South United on head-to-head, though still behind Mohun Bagan SG. The group remains tight, but the champions have reasserted themselves.
Next up is South United in the final group-stage match. After an 8-0 rampage and a hat-trick from Vishnu, the question is no longer whether East Bengal has recovered from that opening setback.
The question now is who can stop it.
