THE CALCUTTA FOOTBALL LEAGUE'S newfangled knockout stage kicked off today, with two simultaneous matches setting up the playoffs for the two remaining quarter final games.
Mohammedan Sporting and Kidderpore SC, who were supposed to play Mohun Bagan and East Bengal respectively, got a bye to the playoffs scheduled for 30th September due to their opponents electing not to play in CFL 2021.
In the Group II qualifier match, Railway FC defeated Kidderpore SC 5-0 in a stormy blitz at Naihati. Saif Ali Gain scored a brace while Tanmoy Das, Subrata Biswas and Abhijit Naskar scored one apiece in the match.
At the Group I qualifier, however, things played out a lot differently. Tollygunge Agragami played Southern Samity in a battle of equals that had to go into penalties to find a winner.
The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Uttam Rai had scored for Southern while Biswajit Das had scored for Tollygunge. In the extra time, Christopher Iyikwobe got Tollygunge a crucial lead that almost got them the victory. But then the vetaran Suraj Mondal earned a penalty and converted it for Southern, tying it 2-2 after 120 minutes.
The penalties, too, were a cagey affair with Tollygunge Agragami just managing to win the exchange 5-4 following a nervous display from the Southern keeper who remained rooted on the spot through most of the spot kicks.
You can watch the whole match here courtesy the official facebook page of Aajkaal.
Tollygunge Agragami will take on Mohammedan Sporting, and Railway FC will face Aryan Club in the decisive matches for quarter final placement. Both games will be played simultaneously on 30th September. The two winners from those games will join Bhawanipore FC, BSS SC, United SC, Peerless SC, Calcutta Customs and George Telegraph in the last eight clubs still standing in this competition.