A one-sided affair at the Salt Lake stadium saw home side Mohun Bagan Super Giants emerge victorious against Mohammedan Sporting Club. The Mariners won 3-0, all goals coming in the first half, with Scottish attacker Greg Stewart stealing the show. A perfect comeback it was from a 3-0 defeat in the previous game for Mohun Bagan.
The intent was clear from the very first minute by Jose Molina’s boys — to not let Md. Sporting settle down in the midfield and let Alexis Gomez and Carlos Franca play free. It was all Stewart throughout the first half — two assists and a goal with many more chances created. The Scottish attacker was instrumental in the Mariner’s attack throughout the game.
Mohun Bagan started strong and opened the account eight minutes into the game. A long-range shot from Lalengnawia Ralte (Apuia) was lofted over the post by Padam Chhetri under the Sporting goal. Liston Colaco’s curling corner was headed backwards by Greg Stewart which was met by a clinical Jamie McLaren headed finish into the back of the net. He showed the quality of a fox-in-the-box striker, lurking in and hunting for open space and reaching the right spot at the right time.
The one-goal lead didn’t stop Molina’s boys from keeping the pressure on the Panther’s defence line. Colaco, who was brought in the starting XI, impressed throughout with his bursts down the left and shooting from a distance, whenever space was available, making life difficult for Chhetri, the Sporting custodian.
Right at the half-hour mark, there was a hard collision between the Bagan skipper, Subhasish Bose and the Mohammedan SC defender, Joseph Adjei. The Ghanaian defender was out for treatment when Stewart took the free-kick — a pinpoint delivery into the box, and the Bagan skipper made no mistake to double the lead with a grounded header in the 31st minute.
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Sahal Abdul Samad will not be released for national camp.
Says Bagan head coach Jose Molina. @mohunbagansg @debasissen pic.twitter.com/tjk1INaSGJ
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) October 5, 2024
Stewart, with two assists, already deserved a goal himself, which came five minutes later. He started the run after receiving a ball from Liston near the halfway mark and gracefully took the ball away from the defenders to guide it low past the Sporting goalkeeper in the near post to make it 3-0.
Throughout the second half also, Mohammedan SC’s players found it difficult to build play up and couldn’t move past the Bagan midfield. The Kasimov-Alexis-Franca trio didn’t work for the Black Panthers. Bagan could have scored more, had Liston made the scoresheet and also Manvir Singh right at the end. Special mention to Manvir, who was doubtful ahead of the match, but played a vital role throughout.
Bagan boss, Jose Molina will have a sigh of relief going into the international break with this win as another derby awaits him on the 19th of October. The injury concerns, which lingered over in the Bagan dressing room, now seem to have eased out a bit, with Ashique Kurunyan making a comeback. Sahal Abdul Samad’s return will make the team even stronger.
Coach Speak:
Jose Molina: I am happy. We defended pretty well. Not so happy also, as we could have scored more goals but I am satisfied with the result. To me good football is important. We will start preparing for the next match against East Bengal.
Andrey Chernyshov: Mohun Bagan showed the difference in the standard of I-League and ISL. We were totally outplayed. He (Alexis Gomez) was not at his best. But you cannot single out one player. Our boys were tired after three matches.