Mohun Bagan Super Giant retained the IFA Shield on Thursday, October 8, edging arch-rivals East Bengal 1-0 in a fiercely contested Kolkata Derby final at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. A solitary Samir Zeljkovic strike just before half-time sealed the Mariners' 22nd IFA Shield crown — and a domestic double not seen in nearly five decades.
Zeljkovic's 45th-minute winner
Bosnian midfielder Samir Zeljkovic broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, controlling a chipped pass from Sahal Abdul Samad on his chest before calmly slotting past the East Bengal goalkeeper. The 45th-minute goal was the decisive moment in a game that was tight but never truly fluent.
East Bengal started with greater purpose — Edmund Lalrindika was denied by Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Vishal Kaith in the sixth minute — but the Mariners grew into the game. Mehtab Singh headed over in the 23rd minute, East Bengal goalkeeper Lachenpa produced two sharp saves to keep out Liston Colaco and Sahal, and then the deadlock broke. After the interval, East Bengal pushed hard for an equaliser, with Dani Ramirez sending an aerial ball into the box in the 87th minute that Lukasz Zwolinski failed to convert, and back-to-back corners deep into seven minutes of stoppage time came to nothing.
A double five decades in the making
This is the 22nd time Mohun Bagan have claimed the prestigious tournament — East Bengal remain the competition's most successful side with 29 titles. More significantly, it is the first time in nearly five decades that the Mariners have won the Calcutta Football League and the IFA Shield in the same season. The last time they achieved the feat was 1976, under the legendary PK Banerjee.
The win also tasted like revenge: earlier this season, East Bengal inflicted a 4-1 defeat on Mohun Bagan in the Durand Cup final. East Bengal had stormed into Thursday's final with a 7-2 semi-final demolition of NorthEast United FC, with David Lalhlansanga scoring a hat-trick — but head coach Antonio Habas's side could not reproduce that attacking fluency against their arch-rivals.
Derby momentum before the ISL
The fiercely contested final was the fifth meeting between the two sides this year, and it sets the tone for an exciting Indian Super League season, which begins in a couple of days. East Bengal will be disappointed, but the Red-and-Gold brigade's semi-final form suggests they remain contenders; for Mohun Bagan, the champion's habit is back.
Watch: IFA Shield final highlights and Kolkata Derby match videos on YouTube — search results with clips from the derby and the 2026 final.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Ready Aim Fire (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
The takeaway: one moment of quality from Zeljkovic settled the 2026 IFA Shield final — and ended a nearly 50-year wait for a Mohun Bagan league-and-Shield double.