Durand Cup 2023: Mohun Bagan SG move past RoundGlass Punjab FC, Odisha FC lost to Indian Army Football Team

By
Jayujyoti Mullick
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0

Kolkata: Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated Punjab FC 2–0 to win the Durand Cup match in Group A for the second time in a row. Heavy rain began to fall as the game at the Kishore Bharathi Krirangan got underway. With an own goal from Melroy Assisi, Mohun Bagan took the lead. Hugo Boumous scored the insurance goal, doubling the local team’s lead. With this victory, Mohun Bagan has topped the group.

Juan Ferrando, the head coach of the Mohun Bagan Super Giants, was back on the sidelines for this game. Juan made six changes to the lineup, giving numerous members of the first team opportunities to play. Staikos Vergetis, the head coach of Punjab FC, selected a powerful team to make their debut in the Durand Cup.

Both teams got going slowly as they tried to adapt to the circumstances. More quickly than PFC, MBSG settled in and began to string together several passes within the opponent’s half. Right winger Leon Augustine was having trouble making things easy for MBSG skipper Subhasish Bose. Early in the half, as a result, the Bose’s received a caution. In minute 23, Mohun Bagan broke the scoreless tie. Manvir Singh squirmed past Nikhil Prabhu after receiving the ball on the right wing.

Then, with Suhail Bhatt hiding behind him, Melroy Assisi deflected a low cross from Singh into his own goal. Punjab was energetic in spots, especially with Krishnananda Singh for PFC moving well down the left wing. However he could not find the telling pass for the side from Punjab to equalize with Luka Majcen getting very less service inside the box.

Juan Mera, a cunning winger, had an impact on the game and transformed the dynamic of PFC’s attack. But in the 48th minute, the Mariners doubled their advantage. Hugo Boumous recovered the ball and passed it to Listin Colaco, who sent a chipped cross past Kiran Kumar Limbu, the custodian for Punjab. Boumous was fortunate to get the rebound and put the ball in the goal.

Punjab came close to scoring again in the following minute. Luka was once more found by Krishnananda on the edge of the box, and the Slovenian rebounded off the crossbar. Punjab was aggressive and frequently posing a goal danger to Mohun Bagan. Amarjity Singh found Luka with a headed pass and the forwards left footed attempt was saved well by Mohun Bagan keeper Vishal Kaith.

The Mariners’ defence was under constant pressure from Punjab FC, but Anwar Ali and Brandon Hamill were too powerful to be overcome. Mohun Bagan earned their second straight triumph in the competition as the final score remained the same in their favour.

Scorers:

Mohun Bagan Super Giant – 2 (Melroy (OG) 23’, Boumous 48’)

In the other match, Odisha FC lost to 10-man Indian Army at the SAI Stadium, in Kokrajhar.

The Indian Army attacked the Odisha box early in the game. As an unmarked player in the final minute of the game, they could have scored. Right winger L. Deepak Singh made a terrific cutback that Rahul Ramakrishnan did not take advantage of. Singh was unable to complete the move, and Niraj Kumar of Odisha stopped Christopher Kamei’s shot.

The inexperienced Odisha continued to come under increasing strain from the Indian Army as their lines appeared menacing at all times. Samir Murmu provided a through ball for centre striker Liton Shil in the 42nd minute of play, and Shil went past two defenders before deftly finishing beyond the Odisha goalkeeper to give the Indian Army team the lead.

Odisha came out stronger in the second half in search of the equaliser, but the Army players exploited their knowledge of the game to slow down the action and use it against the younger players from Odisha.

In the 77th minute, Indian Army was reduced to ten men as goal scorer Liton Shil was dismissed for a careless tackle on Odisha defender Tankadhar Bag. Odisha applied constant pressure to the Army team, but the seasoned Army players fended off the threats to begin their Durand Cup campaign with a victory.

Scorers:

Indian Army FT – 1 (Liton 42’)

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