Mohun Bagan Super Giant breezed past Jamshedpur FC by 3-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium in the Indian Super League on Friday to jump to the second spot in the standings.
The Mariners have an incredibly gifted frontline at their disposal, and this match was a terrific testament to that with the trio of Dimitrios Petratos, Jason Cummings, and Armando Sadiku netting once each to cap off a convincing outing. But it was Manvir Singh who stole the show setting up all three of the Mariners’ goals.
Jamshedpur had been on an enviable surge since Khalid Jamil took over the reins, staying unbeaten in the second half of the current campaign. Their opponents had been in a similar run, not tasting defeat in the league since Antonio Lopez Habas replaced Juan Ferrando.
This was thus a clash of two impressively in-form units, but the superior striking quality in the ranks of the home team shone through to secure three points for the Kolkata-based club.
Supporting them was Manvir, who entered this game as the player with most assists (three) in this fixture. Over the course of 90 minutes, Manvir doubled that tally.
In the seventh minute, Manvir made another one of his dazzling runs on the right flank, breaching past the Jamshedpur backline and squaring up a pass for an onrushing Petratos. The striker struck the sweet spot inside the net with his first touch, breaking the deadlock early on.
The Mariners’ goalkeeper Vishal Kaith kept them in the game, denying the duo of Imran Khan and Daniel Chima Chukwu. Imran tested Kaith from distance whereas Chukwu had a shot from inside the box, but, Kaith, with two saves and clearances each helped Mohun Bagan Super Giant keep an important clean sheet.
As the game entered its final half hour, the home team produced some exemplary finishing to extend their lead.
In the 68th minute, Manvir shifted into the middle, carving open a half space in the final third with a precise pass that Cummings shot straight past TP Rehenesh. Joni Kauko played a key role in that move, holding up the ball, and waiting for Manvir to free up before delivering the ball to him.
Twelve minutes later, Sadiku jumped into the proceedings, converting a fairly straightforward tap in to triple the lead, infusing momentum for the Mariners to finish the game on a high.