Mohun Bagan get past Punjab FC 2-0 for second consecutive win

KOLKATA: The reigning Indian Super League (ISL) Champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat Punjab FC 2-0 to secure their second consecutive victory in a Group A fixture of the 132nd Durand Cup at the Kishore Bharathi Krirangan, topping the points table in their group.

Melroy Assisi’s own goal gave Mohun Bagan the lead while Hugo Boumous doubled the lead for the local side.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach Juan Ferrando was back at the touchline for this match and he made six changes to the side with many of the first-team players having a crack at the game.

Punjab FC head coach Staikos Vergetis named a strong side against the local side for their debut in the Durand Cup. The conditions were once again tricky as the rain was pelting down making it tough for both sides to play free-flowing football.

Both teams started cautiously looking to settle into the conditions. MBSG settled quicker than PFC and started to stitch together some passes in the opponent's half. On the other end, right winger Leon Augustine was creating problems for the MBSG captain Subhasish Bose which resulted in the latter receiving a booking early into the half.

Mohun Bagan broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute. Manvir Singh received a ball in the right wing and the forward wriggled past Nikhil Prabhu and put in a low cross which was deflected into his own goal by Melroy Assisi with Suhail Bhatt lurking behind him.

Punjab were lively in patches, especially with Krishnananda Singh lively down the left wing for PFC but he could not find the telling pass for the side from Punjab to equalize with Luka Majcen getting very less service inside the box.

The introduction of Juan Mera changed the complexion of PFC’s attack with the tricky winger influencing the game. But it was the Mariners who doubled their lead in the 48th minute through a swift counterattack. Hugo Boumous collected the ball and found Listin Colaco whose chipped cross was not pushed to safety by the Punjab goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu.

The rebound fell kindly for Boumous who tapped the ball inside the goal. Punjab almost got a goal back in the very next minute. Krishnananda again found Luka on the edge of the box and the Slovenian came back off the crossbar. Punjab was on the front foot and was threatening the Mohun Bagan goal regularly.

Amarjity Singh found Luka with a headed pass and the forward's left-footed attempt was saved well by Mohun Bagan keeper Vishal Kaith. Punjab FC kept on pushing the Mariners' defence but Anwar Ali and Brandon Hamill were too strong to breach. The final score remained the same in favour of Mohun Bagan giving them their second consecutive victory of the tournament.