Mohun Bagan Super Giant kicked off their title defence with a 3-1 thrashing of Punjab FC in the Indian Super League in Kolkata on Saturday. Following a delayed start, Mohun Bagan dominated the proceedings against the I-League promoted side and had a 2-0 cushion going into the halftime with goals from Jason Cummings (ninth) and Dimitri Petratos (34th).
After the changeover, Luka Majcen (53rd) pulled one back from a sloppy back pass by Glan Martins.
But it was not enough as Mohun Bagan pumped in another through India forward Manvir Singh (63rd) to start the season on an emphatic note.
Set up by India midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad, Cummings took a left-footed strike from the right side of the six-yard box to give the Mariners an early lead, which was doubled through Petratos, who utilised a pass from Liston Colaco before launching his left-footed shot into the bottom right corner.
Minutes after he was brought in as a replacement for Subhasish Bose, Manvir used a Petratos cross to shoot to the top left corner with his powerful right-footed strike.
The match was delayed by 35 minutes to avoid broadcasting issues as the first match of the day between Odisha FC and Chennaiyin FC was interrupted due to bad weather.
To avoid a clash of telecast, the second match of the Saturday double-header was deferred by 35 minutes.
Odisha FC win
Goals in either halves by Jerry Mawihmingthanga and Diego Mauricio helped Odisha FC defeat Chennaiyin FC 2-0 to start their Indian Super League campaign on a victorious note on Saturday. Odisha seemed to have adapted into new head coach Sergio Lobera’s philosophy seamlessly from the start.
They held the major chunk of the possession and kept probing the Chennaiyin defence with their fluid offensive moves, but neither of the two teams came close to breaking the deadlock until Jerry found the breakthrough courtesy of some incredible coordination upfront in the 45th minute of the game.
Goalkeeper Samik Mitra failed to handle a long-range shot properly, which landed in fullback Amey Ranawade’s feet on the right hand side of the 18-yard box.
Ranawade squared up a neat pass to Jerry, who turned around swiftly and shot firmly from his left foot into the bottom right corner to hand the Juggernauts the vital lead heading into the half-time break.
Chennaiyin came close to levelling the scores shortly after the break. They won a corner in the 56th minute and the duo of Lazar Cirkovic and Connor Shields scrapped through.
However, a resilient Odisha backline, spearheaded by goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, ensured that the team kept the visitors at bay.
Lobera reinforced Odisha’s attack by bringing in Brazilian forward Mauricio for Jiteshwor Singh as the second half progressed.
Mauricio, the joint-highest goal-scorer of the previous ISL season, instantly pounced upon a defensive error by Ankit Mukerjee to bag the home side’s second goal of the night.
Mukherjee fumbled a back pass that ended in Mauricio’s pathway, who rounded off Mitra to calmly slot the ball into the back of the net.
The Juggernauts grew in confidence thereafter as they tested the Chennaiyin defence pretty closely in the final 20 minutes of the match.
First, Isak Vanlalruatfela came close to furthering the lead but his shot ended up slightly wayward off the post in the 73rd minute.
A few minutes later, towering defender Mourtada Fall jumped high amidst a tight space but ended up heading the ball faintly off target.
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