Twenty-one years after an East Bengal team last won a league title in Indian football, the club's women's outfit sealed the Indian Women's League (IWL) trophy with a 1-0 victory over defending champions Odisha FC in Kalyani on Friday.
Soumya Guguloth scored the all-important goal in the 67th minute.
With this loss, Odisha FC stood on the verge of relegation and their fate is not entirely in their own hands with just one game left.
The last title East Bengal had won was the National Football League -- the predecessor of I-League -- when its men's team lifted the trophy in the 2003-04 season. Other national titles the men's team has won over the years were either in knock-out or league-cum-knock-out tournaments. The men's team had also won the ASEAN Club Championship in 2003.
In their third season in the women's top division, East Bengal overcame all the challenges with ease. They have beaten all teams, barring Gokulam Kerala, in the league this season. They won the title with one game in hand and their last match will be played against Gokulam on April 18 when they will be officially handed the trophy.
Despite thoroughly dominating the first half, East Bengal could not find the finishing touch. Their forward trio of Maurine Achieng, Soumya Guguloth and Elshaddai Acheampong were guilty of not finishing good chances throughout the first half an hour.
The best of these fell to Achieng, who forced a brilliant diving save from Nandini off a sharp header from Sandhiya Ranganathan's cross in the 35th minute.
The next period of the game belonged to Odisha though, with Pyari Xaxa almost single-handedly bursting through East Bengal's experienced defensive line before firing high when faced with just Panthoi Chanu to beat.
In a chaotic end to the half, both teams traded more chances. Xaxa's header from a corner was cleared by Karthika Angamuthu, and Acheampong's long-range pile driver curled just wide of the far post.
The gap between the two sides this season was evident from their places on the table, but the action on the pitch would not suggest it.
Odisha brought all the momentum to the second-half, and Xaxa was guilty of missing the best chance of the game when she poked a loose ball inside the six-yard area wide. The chance had been created from a corner, and East Bengal looked relieved.
Just as it seemed like the game was headed for a draw, Anju Tamang -- who had scored in the 1-1 stalemate with Sribhumi FC in the previous match after returning from injury -- came on to inject some energy into the hosts' attack.
Tamang almost immediately tested Nandini's reflexes, volleying from inside the box to draw a save.
In the 67th minute, she turned provider, playing an inch-perfect pass that split the Odisha defence and allowed Guguloth to run free towards goal. The forward finished it first time, with Nandini stranded, and duly broke into celebrations.
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