Local favorite Mohammedan Sporting Club kicked off their 130th Durand Cup campaign in a thrashing fashion with a 4-1 win over regimental side Indian Air Force (IAF) Football Team at Yubbharti Krirangan (VYBK) on Sunday.
Before the kick-off, the players of both the sets were congratulated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal and Chief Guest of the Durand Cup Opening Ceremony, Mamata Banerjee.
Milan Singh broke the deadlock for Mohammedan in the 19th minute before centre-back Arijit Singh doubled his lead in the 31st minute. Azharuddin Mallick added a third at the stroke of half-time and gave the Kolkata giants a three-goal cushion. break.
The Indian Air Force got a goal back in the 47th minute, thanks to which Saurav Sadhukhan executed a free-kick, giving a ray of hope to his team. All hopes were dashed in the 77th minute when Marcus Joseph scored the fourth goal for Mohammedan to get three points.
Local side and the first civilian club to win the Durand Cup in 1940 – Mohammedan SC are the only representatives of Kolkata football in this edition and they were the dominant side with the word Go.
In the 19th minute, a speculative strike from a distance by Milan Singh stopped the IAF goalkeeper to score the first goal of the 130th Durand Cup. and broke the deadlock in favor of Mohammedan.
The Black Panthers added a second in the 31st minute, this time through Arijit Singh, who tapped into the lay-off from a pass by Sheikh Fayaz. Azharuddin Malik scored the third goal in the last minute of the half and Black Panthers took a 3-0 lead at half time.
The IAF, despite being three goals down, came back with an early goal, which they achieved after the restart. In the 47th minute, Sourav Sadhukhan, who replaced Ashok Kumar in the first half, scored with a free-kick down the left flank from the edge of the 18-yard field. It was covered by Mohammedan patron Zothanmawiya, but was caught by the dips and curls of the effort.
After reducing the losses, there was hope in the Indian Air Force camp.
In the 71st minute, he tried a long-range goal from Mohamed Danish, who missed the target.
However, all hope was shattered in the 77th minute when Marcus Joseph, the top scorer and star of the 129th Durand Cup, added a fourth goal for the local giants and made the match, set and match in black and white for the team.
“We are very happy to win our first match of such a historic tournament by such a margin. Disappointing in the second half as we conceded a goal but I am happy with the overall performance. We will have to make changes going forward because we are also participating in the Calcutta Football League”, said Mohammedan head coach Andrey Chernyshev.
Man of the Match, Nikola Stojanovic said, “Very happy with the tournament being organised. I am very happy to play a key role in the victory today. I am loving my stay here. I am happy for the supporters, they have been supporting us since July since we started and the training has been good. We also have CFL matches going on, so we have to keep up our performance and make sure we do well in both the tournaments.”
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