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I-League heavyweights Mohammedan SC sealed their third straight victory of Durand Cup 2022 with a 2-0 win over Indian Air Force FT (IAFT) at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday.
Coming into the match, the Kolkata giants registered two consecutive victories over Indian Super League sides FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC. Indian Air Force FT, meanwhile, suffered two defeats ahead of their clash with the Black Panthers
Andrey Chernyshov's men started the game on the front foot, settling in quickly and dominating the progression of the play. In the eighth minute itself, Mohammedan SC won a freekick from an attacking position and Marcus Joseph whipped in a neat ball. But Pritam Singh couldn’t judge the flight of the ball and missed the opportunity.
The Black Panthers kept knocking on the door and in the 26th minute, they carved out another glorious opportunity. SK Faiaz dazzled past defenders before setting up Abhash Thapa, who cut the ball back for Joseph. The talismanic forward failed to get the desired connection and the chance went begging.
Seven minutes later, Mohammedan SC finally broke the deadlock through Ousmane N’diaye. The 31-year-old calmly controlled the rebound after a corner situation and then buried it into the top right corner, aided by a slight touch from the head of a defender.
At the end of the first half, while Mohammedan clearly emerged as the side in control, IAFT kept the score in check and went into the next 45 minutes trailing by a slight margin.
Rahul Paswan salvages early misses with a late goal for Mohammedan SC
The Army men started the second half with intensity and aggression to restore parity but lacked output in the final third. In the 57th minute itself, Mohammedan had a glorious opportunity to double their lead through Rahul Paswan. However, the young Indian forward fumbled in front of an open goal after IAFT gifted him the ball inside the box.
Eight minutes later, Paswan missed another opportunity when Marcus Joseph drove through the right and cut the ball back for the 24-year-old. However, the Indian forward couldn't control the ball.
With the second half seemingly becoming a tale of missed opportunities for Paswan, the youngster salvaged his day with an inevitable goal in the 87th minute. Marcus Joseph delivered a belting cross from the right and Paswan rose the highest to head the ball home and seal the tie.
With this, Mohammedan SC have sealed three consecutive victories to sit pretty at the top of the table in Group A.
