East Bengal’s dominant 7-2 win over NorthEast United sets up an IFA Shield final Kolkata Derby.
Kolkata is heating up for another Derby again, as East Bengal reached the IFA Shield final with a dashing performance against North East United FC. A 7-2 win in the semi-finals will definitely boost the Red and Yellow brigade’s confidence, also causing anxiety for Mohun Bagan. On 8th October, Kolkata football will see another Derby; before that the performance of Mohun Bagan in the semi’s casted cloud over them. David and Ramirez’s outstanding gameplay offered Habas options to give players game time. Loba gets his anticipated debut while Rashid gets his first game time in the shield.
East Bengal enforced a brace in the first half
The Red and Yellow Brigade delivered one of their finest performances in the IFA Shield 2026. Habas made a few changes to the starting XI. For the first time this season; Ramirez appeared in the pre-season, which made the difference. North East United provided a solid start to the game, scoring a goal in the second minute of the game. Alaaddine finished Nikola’s pass in an empty net; after that, East Bengal never turned back. First, in the 12th minute, David Lalhlansanga finished Ikonomidis’s cross, and that marked the start of a goal fest. In the 23rd minute, they took the lead with Rohith Kumar finishing Ramirez’s cross.
The Spanish midfielder did not stop with that; in the 28th minute he again created a chance but Tondonba saved a goal-line ball. The fest continued as the red and yellow brigade scored their third in the 43rd minute. Vishnu passed the ball to Ikonomedis; Dinesh attempted to stop the ball, resulting in a goal.
After this, for East Bengal, it was only about staying firm in their attack.
David’s hat-trick and East Bengal’s confirmation in the final
Yesterday, MBSG coach Panos agreed about the disappointment with the team’s performance. Now today’s performance of East Bengal will not only boost confidence but also create tension in the Mohun Bagan camp.
East Bengal only continued their fierce attack leaving no room for the North East defenders. David completed his hat-trick scoring back-to-back goals between the 46th and 56th minutes. On this day, Habas experimented with the squad, and Ake Loba made his debut replacing Ramirez, and scored his very first goal in the 85th minute. Rashid also got his game time in the IFA Shield today replacing Zivulic.
North East only lifted their hope a bit high with Alladeine’s one more goal in the 83rd minute.
In the post-match press conference, Ramirez said, “ yes, the final is important for us but our main goal is the AFC Champions League Two; we will try to do our best in that match.”
East Bengal finally ended the match with an eye-catching 7-2 win, confirming a derby in the finals on the 8th October.
IFA Shield 2026 – East Bengal FC vs NorthEast United FC highlights
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