Emami East Bengal entered the semi-finals of the Durand Cup defeating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium on a rain-drenched Friday.

East Bengal took the lead in the very first minute. A training ground routine corner-kick by Borja Herrara was headed back into the danger area by Javier Siverio from the edge of the box which was brilliantly flicked into the goal by Australian Jordan Elsey.

The ground condition was heavy due to the incessant rain but still East Bengal used the speed of Nandhakumar Sekar and Mahesh Singh in the wings to create chances.

They could have doubled their lead through another corner but Saul Crespo’s right-footed shot came back off the crossbar.

On the other end, Komron Tursunov blasted his volley over the crossbar before Alejandro Lopez forced a brilliant save out of East Bengal goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.

In the 56th minute, Bouba Aminou equalised for Kerala FC. But their joy was short-lived. Eleven minutes later Aminou scored an own goal as he failed to deal with a Nishu Kumar delivery.

The writer is an intern with The Telegraph