The 1956–57 Durand Cup final was the 53rd final of the Durand Cup, the oldest football competition in India. It was contested between Kolkata giants East Bengal and Hyderabad City Police on 5 January 1957 at the Delhi Gate Stadium in New Delhi.
East Bengal won the final 2–0 to claim their 3rd Durand Cup title. Balasubramanium and Moosa Ghazi scored the goals for East Bengal in the final as East Bengal lifted their third Durand Cup title.
Route to the final
East BengalRound Hyderabad City PoliceOpponentResultRoundOpponentResultMughals2–1Second RoundNew Delhi Heroes3–2Caltex Club0–0; 3–0Quarter–FinalWestern Railway2–0Madras Regimental Centre0–0; 0–0; 2–0Semi–FinalE.M.E. Centre2–1
Match Summary The Durand Cup final began at the Delhi Gate Stadium in New Delhi on 5 January 1957 in front of a packed crowd as Kolkata giant East Bengal and faced Hyderabad City Police. East Bengal reached their third Durand Cup final after defeating the defending champions, Madras Regimental Centre, 2–0 in the semi-final, havinwon the tournament previously in 1951 and 1952. Hyderabad City Police made their fourth appearance in the final after defeating E.M.E. Centre 2–1 in the semi-final, having previously won the cup in 1950 and 1954.
Both East Bengal and Hyderabad City Police started the game positively, creating attacks but were denied by the strong defence of both teams. In the nineteenth minute, Anthony Patrick fouled Varahalu near the box, and Balasubramanium scored directly from the free-kick from 30 yards to give East Bengal the lead. Hyderabad tried to get back into the game but their forward line, consisting of Sussay, Mohammed Zulfiqaruddin and Yousuf Khan wasted multiple chances. East Bengal doubled their lead in the second half with just seven minutes remaining when Moosa Ghazi made a solo run past the defenders and scored for East Bengal to make it 2–0 as East Bengal held onto the scoreline and won their third Durand Cup title.
Details
GK Makhon ChatterjeeFB T. Abdul RahmanFB James FennHB Hussain KillerHB Bir Bahadur GurungHB Mariappa KempaiahFW Muhammad KannayanFW BalasubramaniumFW J. Krishnaswamy "Kittu" (c)FW VarahaluFW Moosa Ghazi GK NabiFB Sayed Khwaja Aziz-ud-DinFB Yousaf KhanHB Anthony PatrickHB Sk. KaleemHB Muhammad Noor (c)FW Syed MoinuddinFW G.Y.S. LaiqFW Mohammed ZulfiqaruddinFW SussayFW Yousuf Khan
Match rules 60 minutes. Replay if scores still level. No Substitutes.
References
External links Durand Cup Finals