East Bengal have successfully retained the Calcutta Football League [CFL] crown as CFL 2015 nears its conclusion. With the win, East Bengal equalled their own record of 6 consecutive titles, set in the ‘70s. Meanwhile, Army XI leapfrogged Mohammedan Sporting into second place with a 2-0 victory over SAI East Zone and a 3-0 triumph over Kalighat Milan Sangha. Week 5 of the CFL saw the Red-and-Gold brigade involved in two very different types of contest. Biswajit Bhattacharya’s men had to dig deep against a spirited Kalighat Milan Sangha side, who went 2 up against the champions early in the game. Ranti Martins (previously FC Goa) and Rahul Bheke drew the champions level before former NorthEast United star Do Dong-hyun put them ahead. Kalighat hit back with a goal but a late thunderbolt from youngster Abinash Ruidas sealed a hard fought 4-3 victory for the champions. Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, registered an easy 4-1 win over Police AC courtesy of a brace from Kean Lewis and a goal each from ex-FC Pune City striker Dudu Omagbemi and Lalkamal Bhowmick. The tone was set for Sunday’s big clash between champions East Bengal and arch rivals Mohun Bagan as 90,000 fans turned up for the much-anticipated derby. A delightful brace from Do Dong-hyun was complemented by goals from Rahul Bheke and former Atlético de Kolkata midfielder Mohammed Rafique as East Bengal cruised to a 4-0 win against the Mariners. The win also sealed the title for the Gurwinder Singh (Kerala Blasters FC) led team. 2014’s ISL Player of the League, Iain Hume took to Twitter to congratulate the Red and Gold Brigade by tweeting; Congrats to my brothers @GSinghFootball , Mehtab, Saumik, Avinabo & Luis Barretto on winning the Calcutta League with @eastbengalfc 2day! 👏🏼— Iain Hume (@Humey_7) September 6, 2015Looking ahead to the last week of the CFL, BNR FC sit rock bottom of the league while SAI East Zone, Tollygunge and Kalighat Milan Sangha round up the rest of the relegation places. Hero I-League 2014-15 Champions Mohun Bagan still languish in the middle of the table after a mixed week that saw them register an emphatic win against Police AC before being humbled by their arch rivals East Bengal, while Mohammedan Sporting slipped to third in the table after a 1-1 draw against Tollygunge and a 1-0 loss at the hands of SAI East Zone.
