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Mohun Bagan Super Giant faced off against newcomers Punjab FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) opener in Kolkata on Saturday, September 23. The Mariners ran away as 3-1 victors on the night.
Jason Cummings scored the first goal after a ball hit Sahal Abdul Samad's leg and fell to him in the six-yard box. The A-League top scorer from last season made no mistake and converted with ease.
The hosts quickly doubled their lead with a terrific move as Liston Colaco played an intricate backpass to Dimitri Petratos in the box who scored his first of the competition.
With a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime, it looked like the Punjab FC were in for a very difficult initiation in the Indian top-flight. However, their captain Luca Macjen pulled one back in the 53rd minute after a stray pass by Glan Martins.
Just as Punjab FC seemed to have a foothold in the game after scoring, Mohun Bagan scored via Manvir Singh to extend their lead. The 27-year-old forward flicked Petratos' cross into Kiram Chemjong's net and veritably killed off the game.
Staikos Vergetis, the Punjab FC head coach, has quite a few positives to take from today's game as his side showed glimpses of promise on a few occasions. Meanwhile, Juan Ferrando will be happy to get that first win out of the way as he is tasked with juggling between both domestic and continental aspirations in the form of the AFC Cup.
On that note, let's take a look at the player ratings for Mohun Bagan Super Giant as they kicked off their campaign with 3 points.
Vishal Kaith [ 6/10 ]
The ISL 2022-23 Golden Glove winner did not have to make many saves tonight as Mohun Bagan maintained extended periods of comfortable possession. He failed to keep a clean sheet after Glan Martins' misplaced pass went to Luca Majcen who scored with ease.
Subhasish Bose [ 7/10 ]
The Bagan captain had a solid game as the left wing-back, replacing Ashique Kuruniyan in that position. He did well in bombing up and down his flank and won four of his five duels.
Brendan Hamill [ 7/10 ]
The Australian center-half looked confident in his position except for a single moment when he pushed Punjab FC winger Prasanth to the ground. He was lucky to not concede his team a penalty.
Hector Yuste [ 7/10 ]
Hector continues to impress for his new club. The 35-year-old looks to have fit perfectly into Juan Ferrando's system, and produced another faultless performance at the Salt Lake Stadium tonight.
Anwar Ali [ 7/10 ]
The 'Indian Sergio Ramos', as his teammate Jason Cummings called him, had another good game. Anwar's positioning, aerial ability and long-passing were all on the show tonight as the center-half goes from strength to strength for his new club.
Asish Rai [ 8/10 ]
Asish Rai was everywhere on the pitch tonight. The wingback was a livewire down the right-hand side, especially in the first half.
Glan Martins [ 5/10 ]
Glan Martins would like to forget tonight's game as soon as possible. The 29-year-old had an excellent opportunity to move up Juan Ferrando's pecking order as he was played in place of the suspended Anirudh Thapa. However, his horror pass in the 53rd minute resulted in Punjab FC's first goal in the Indian Super League.
Sahal Abdul Samad [ 8/10 ]
Sahal ensured that Hugo Boumous' absence was not felt by the Mariners tonight. The crafty midfielder proved to be a menace for Punjab FC as he danced past his opponent players casually.
He may have picked up only one assist tonight, but his impact exceeded statistics. Constantly breaking lines and evading Punjab's press, Sahal seems to have finally come into his own under Juan Ferrando.
Dimitri Petratos [ 8/10 ]
One goal. One assist. Business as usual for Dimi Petratos. His finality of pass and lethality of finish continue to terrorize opposition defenses.
Liston Colaco [ 7/10 ]
It was good to see Liston have such an engaged game today. After a season where he could not deliver much in terms of numbers, he seemed right at home in the starting eleven today. Combining perfectly with Cummings and Petratos, the trio set up a fluid attack that proved to be too much for the ISL debutants.
Jason Cummings [ 7/10 ]
Jason Cummings scored in his debut in the ISL today. He looked much fitter than his first few games for Mohun Bagan and the goal will boost his confidence with a long season ahead.
Substitutes:
Manvir Singh [ 7/10 ]
Talk about impact. Coming on in the 63rd minute, Manvir scored a minute later, with a delightful flick from a Petratos cross.
Hugo Boumous [ 6/10 ]
Hugo Boumous came on with roughly 20 minutes to go and tried to combine with the forwards.
Armando Sadiku [ 6/10 ]
The Albanian striker missed a bunch of opportunities after coming on, failing to add to his team's tally, which could've very easily been bigger.
Abhishek Suryavanshi [ 6/10 ]
The promising youngster replaced Sahal Abdul Samad in the 79th minute and tried his best to calm down proceedings as Punjab FC attempted a few last moves to grab a late goal.
Lalrinliana Hnamte [ 6/10 ]
The energetic Hnamte played the last few minutes of the game and his fresh legs helped his side keep Punjab at bay.
