Young talent dominated on Thursday as Mohun Bagan Super Giant secured a win against 10-man Jamshedpur FC in the 2023-24 Indian Super League in Jamshedpur.
The Mariners secured their first ISL win after conceding a goal in a match in over nine months, with their last such victory coming against Kerala Blasters FC (also 2-1) last season.
Jamshedpur coach Scott Cooper tried to bring in greater goal-scoring potential to his side by handing a starting spot to Mohammed Sanan. The 19-year-old made an immediate impact, netting in the sixth minute to become only the second teenager after Aniket Jadhav to score a goal for Jamshedpur FC in ISL history.
Seven minutes later, Sanan again tried his luck at a long-range effort but was not on target this time.
Jamshedpur’s joy was short-lived, as the Mariners demonstrated an attacking move straight out of the training ground to bag the equaliser in the 29th minute. The visitors overloaded the right flank and attacking midfielder Sahal Abdul Samad pierced the opposition backline with a through-ball that met an onrushing Manvir Singh. The winger squared a pass for Armando Sadiku that the striker tapped past TP Rehenesh to draw scores level.
Mohun Bagan winger Liston Colaco took a long-range strike that helped his team get a foot ahead in the proceedings. In the 48th minute, Colaco received the ball on the left wing and he cut inside and shot on the right side of the net in a move that caught the Jamshedpur backline off guard. Rehenesh barely moved an inch but Colaco’s goal helped the Mariners take the lead.
Rehenesh was at the centre of another notable moment in the game, charging outside the box and tackling to bring down Samad in the 68th minute.
A red card was shown and Jamshedpur went down to 10 men. Manvir led another offensive move, this time from the left flank, and laid out an assist for Kiyan Nassiri Giri. The 22-year-old ran into the space between Nikhil Barla and Pratik Chaudhari to lob the ball over substitute goalkeeper Vishal Yadav’s head in the 80th minute.
All was not lost for the home side as a foul by Yuste gave Jamshedpur a spot-kick in the 86th minute. Steve Ambri converted the penalty, but the Mariners held their backline together for the remaining time period to return with three points to their name.