Kolkata, Sept 27: Holder East Bengal managed a late winner to stutter past a nine-man Prayag United SC 2-1 to reach its third consecutive Federation Cup final entry, reports the Hindu.
The second semifinal of the 33rd edition of the tournament on Monday saw the home side gain from some dubious refereeing decisions that helped it subdue the opposition.
United SC forged an early lead through Snehasish Dutta. East Bengal restored parity later in the half, off a penalty scored by its Scottish striker Alan Gow.
With United tightening its vigil in the second session East Bengal struggled to find the winner which finally came — in the 82nd minute — after Manipur referee Magho Singh had ejected two of the United SC players.
Substitute Khanthang Paite found the winner for East Bengal.
The holder will meet Salgaocar SC in the title round on Thursday, which will see a repeat of the 1997 final that the latter had won.
It was the second occasion when lapses in supervision gave East Bengal a lifeline in the tournament. Referee Pratap Singh of Uttarakhand made glaring errors helping East Bengal get past Dempo SC in the quarterfinal league.
Magho Singh seemed to repeat his predecessor's laxness in supervision flashing red cards on the United SC striker Joshimar Da Silva and defender Dipak Mondal in a span of five minutes.
While Joshimar was penalised for indiscipline, the decision on Dipak appeared a bit too harsh as the referee seemed to overlook similar infringements committed by the other side.
United SC exposed East Bengal's latent weakness launching a strong attack right from the start.
East Bengal appeared a bit disjointed in the beginning as it shuffled tentatively in search of the right combination in the absence of its key midfielder Mehtab Hussain owing to injury.
The holder also missed the services of striker Robin Singh, who was serving a suspension.
While its famed opponent was left groping for the right attacking options, United SC showed better application and sought the goal route right from the start.
Immediately after kick-off, Joshimar sped up the left flank, left unattended by the East Bengal defence, and essayed a neat cross that Lalkamal Bhowmik connected on the run.
Sandip Nandy, under the East Bengal bar, put his leg in the line just in time to save his team from conceding a goal seconds after the start.
The next quarter saw a good contest with attacks and counter-attacks alternating at regular intervals.
With the United offensive — riding on the Nigeria-Brazil combination of Yusif Yakubu and Joshimar — showing greater felicity in movement, it justifiably enjoyed the early advantage.
United's midfield manned by Lalkamal, Denson Devdas and Shylo Malswamtluanga coordinated well to activate the team's aggression.
Sandip, whose alertness in the East Bengal goal drew cheers early in the match, made a crucial error that decisively gave United an opening.
Snehasish Dutta found the corner of the East Bengal net after Sandip floundered with his attempt trying to clear a Malswamtluanga floater.
East Bengal pressed for the equaliser late in the first session and was rewarded with a penalty in the 37th minute when Magho Singh hauled up United's Nigerian defender Bello Rasaq for tripping Alan Gow inside the box.
The Scotsman found the mark from the spot bringing East Bengal back into the game.
The second session increased East Bengal's agony as United put up a resolute defence. But the final 15 minutes changed things for United which lost two of its men allowing East Bengal the space to find the winner through Paite.
