In the top, the sheer high quality of Mohun Bagan Super Giant was an excessive amount of for Punjab FC. With objectives from Jason Cummings, Dimitri Petratos and Manvir Singh, the defending champions of the Indian Super League (ISL) ran out 3-1 winners towards the newbies. Luca Majcen’s objective, a present from the house workforce, was all of the guests bought on Saturday.
Even for a workforce that had a Mohamed Salah however as left again, beginning the ISL marketing campaign towards Mohun Bagan was at all times going to a extreme take a look at of character. Punjab FC had received the I-League at a canter, notching up 52 factors – the primary workforce in 10 seasons to cross 50 factors – profitable 16 of their 22 video games and shedding solely two.
But this was totally different. They had been ceding house and possession simply and searching mushy throughout the Salt Lake stadium pitch. It allowed Petratos the liberty to roam and Liston Colaco the chance to search out the shape that had abandoned him final season.
In a season the place Ashique Kuruniyan is unlikely to be obtainable due to damage, Colaco’s return to type could be precisely what Mohun Bagan want.
There will likely be sterner exams however the swivel Colaco produced to help Petratos for the second objective after timing his run effectively to fulfill a intelligent cross from Cummings, the sturdy run down the left quickly after which ended with the Goan testing goalie Kiran Limbu and slotting in as left-back after Mohun Bagan substituted Subhasish Bose for Manvir Singh will guarantee fewer creases on coach Juan Ferrando’s perennially furrowed brow. In Colaco he trusts, Ferrando had stated on Friday. The religion was reposed on the pitch.
By the thirty fifth minute, Mohun Bagan had been 2-0 up and Hector Yuste may have added a 3rd on the stroke of half-time. This was markedly totally different from the wobbly begin of final season after they had squandered a result in lose 1-2 to Chennaiyin FC. Cummings had put them forward within the tenth minute after Glan Martins, Ashish Rai and Sahal Abdul Samad mixed to make sure that all of the Australian wanted was a tap-in.
Punjab FC pushed up in the beginning of the second half and had been rewarded with Majcen’s objective that got here due to a momentary lapse of motive from Martins who presumably hadn’t sighted the Slovenian who spent three seasons within the I-League, which included 16 objectives for Punjab FC final time period, earlier than getting an opportunity within the prime tier.
Martins’ backpass was snatched by Majcen within the 53rd minute and Prassanth Karuthadathkuni thought he had equalised within the 61st minute with a header off a Juan Mera free-kick however was dominated off-side, a superb name by assistant referee Christopher Peter.
Manvir’s sensible flick after a well-timed run within the 63rd minute, two minutes after approaching, restored regular service. Samad was on the centre of that objective, operating down the center and discovering Petratos on the left. By the time Petratos, Mohun Bagan’s second Australian on the park Brendan Hamill being the third, seemed up, Manvir was operating into the world displaying the striker’s intuition India head coach Igor Stimac, now preventing a survival battle within the Asian Games, would have been glad given all of the worldwide engagements this season.
With Anirudh Thapa suspended for his pink card within the Durand Cup remaining, Mohun Bagan began with Martins and Samad within the center. With Martins snug in defensive duties in the best way Thapa is usually not – he performs additional up the park for India and was in that place in all these seasons with Chennaiyin FC – Samad may transfer up and ended the night with an help and serving to arrange the third objective after holding off two challenges.
Source web site: www.hindustantimes.com
