Put to test against a full-strength Kerala Blasters in Kalinga Super Cup quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon, the reserve team of ISL double winners Mohun Bagan Super Giant came out with flying colours in Bhubaneswar.
The young and Indian-heavy side put up a gritty and spirited display of football at Kalinga Stadium to carve out a 2-1 victory over the Blasters. They booked a place in the semifinals against FC Goa, who made a stunning comeback in the evening game to beat Punjab FC 2-1 with a stoppage-time winner from Mohammed Yasir.
Trailing a spirited Punjab FC till the 89th minute, Goa’s relentless attacks bore fruit when Borja Herrera drew level one minute from regulation time. As the match was heading to shootout to complete the semifinal line-up, Yasir broke Punjab FC’s heart with a jaw-dropping strike three minutes into the second-half added time.
Earlier, Norberto ‘Pulga’ Vidal had put Punjab in the lead with a 57th-minute strike but the Argentine striker’s substitution late into the game backfired for Punjab as it took the pressure off Goa defence.
Meanwhile, for the Mariners Sahal Abdul Samad opened the scoring midway through the first half while Suhail Ahmad Bhat doubled the lead early in the second. Constant pressure from the Blasters put paid when MS Sreekuttan pulled one back four minutes into the second-half added time. But it was too little, too late.
Despite a barrage of attacks made by the Blasters frontline, Bagan stood firm with Nuno Reis – the only foreigner on Bagan roster on Sunday – showing true leadership quality on debut for the Mariners.
The Portuguese centre-back, playing for the Kolkata giants after sitting out for almost eight months, made an instant impact guarding the backline with commendable support from his Indian teammates Dippendu Biswas, Saurabh Bhanwala and Amandeep.
Special mention should be made of goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, who was like a rolling rock under the bar gathering almost all the balls shot at Bagan goal.
Bagan on the other hand had only three shots on target among the eight shots at goal while Kerala had seven on target among 18 efforts. However, precision and finesse of the Bagan attackers made all the difference.
The first goal was sublime in nature. Player of the match Salahudheen Adnan beat Blasters left-back Naocha Singh with quick twists and turns before sending in a cross into the six-yard box. Sahal finally got the ball, and evading his marker Ruivah Hormipam with a superb first touch, took a turn and chipped it over goalkeeper Sachin Suresh to make it 1-0 in the 22nd minute.
India international Ashique Kuruniyan crafted the second goal from the left flank. He sent in an inch-perfect ball into the six-yard box for Suhail, who guided it home with ease. Bagan could have scored their third but for the Glan Martins shot hitting the left post in the dying minutes of the game.