Mohun Bagan Super Giant Blow Away Mohammedan Sporting; Score Five To Go The Top Of The Table

Image Credit: Debjoy Biswas

It was the first Kolkata Derby of the highly anticipated Indian Super League season. Mohammedan Sporting came into this match without scoring in any of their previous five matches.

Mohammedan Sporting started with a brave yet unusual 3-3-4 formation while going forward and swiftly switched to a 4-1-3-2 while defending. The idea paid dividends early on, as Mohammedan Sporting opened the scoring in the 12' from a well delivered corner by Ngaintea, headed home by midfielder Thankima.

But from then onwards, it was all Mohun Bagan Super Giant. Within five minutes, in the 18', Robson took a shot from the left hand side of the Mohammedan goal, but the crossbar came to Mohammedan’s rescue. Mohun Bagan Super Giant refused to bow to the pressure, and it finally paid off in the 22' when that man again, Robson scored his first league goal in Green & Maroon colours. Jason Cummings held off Amarjit Singh Kiyam and laid it off for Robson, who held off Hira Mondal and thumped the ball home to equalize the match.

Robson doubled Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s lead in the 27th minute, same corner, same force, same power. Mohammedan Sporting goalkeeper Subhajit might feel he could have done better, as he got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out. It was Manvir Singh who started the attack, but his effort was blocked by Gaurav Bora; the ball fell kindly for Robson, who made no mistake.

By this time, all shapes and formations for Mohammedan Sporting were out of the window as they were backpedaling with their tails between their legs. They sat deep in an all-out low block. But even that wasn’t enough to save Mohammedan Sporting from their troubles, as in the 35', Jamie Maclaren scored to make it 3-1. Amay Ganesh Ranawade crossed, Cummings met the aerial ball, but Mohammedan’s defenders somehow managed to stop the initial header. However, it fell kindly for Maclaren, who tapped home easily.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant then lost their star Robson to a hamstring issue, forcing a substitution in the 38', which brought in Dimitri Petratos. Petratos immediately made an impact, playing levels above the Mohammedan defenders, spraying dangerous diagonals and occasionally cutting inside himself to cause plenty of problems for the Mohammedan defense and goalkeeper.

In the second half, Mohammedan’s worries continued as Manvir Singh scored the fourth goal of the night in the 62', meeting Liston Colaco’s cross with a beautiful diving header. It was hard to keep Petratos out of the action, in the 70', he scored from 40 yards out, catching goalkeeper Subhajit off guard. He celebrated with his trademark celebration, showing that his scoring boots were finally back.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant weren’t even exerting themselves fully, but whatever effort they put in was too much for the Black Panthers. They continued their relentless attack, constantly putting pressure on Mohammedan’s defenders and goalkeeper Subhajit.

With this massive victory, Mohun Bagan Super Giant go top of the Indian Super League table with a 100% win record, three wins out of three matches, and a mammoth goal difference of +8, scoring a total of nine goals and conceding only one.