Mohun Bagan Super Giant defeated city rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club by 3-0 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. Three first half goals from the Mariners courtesy of Jamie Maclaren, Subhasish Bose and Greg Stewart saw the reigning champions return to winning ways before heading into the international break.
The first Kolkata Derby of the ISL season started with the expected intensity with both teams trying to exert their command in the middle to take charge of the proceedings. However, the Mariners struck first through their Australian forward Jamie Maclaren in the eighth minute. The goal came from a corner as Maclaren headed it past Padam Chhetri in goal after Stewart glided the ball in his path in the eighth minute.
Buoyed by the early goal, Jose Molina’s men showed exceptional drive as they pressed Mohammedan Sporting and forced them to make errors in midfield. Mohun Bagan Super Giant kept pushing for more goals as they showed impeccable fluidity between their attacking quartet of Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Maclaren and Stewart.
They were eventually rewarded when Stewart’s impeccable freekick found Subhasish Bose in the penalty area. The experienced defender came up with a thumping header to double the lead for the hosts in the 31st minute. Five minutes later, the provider turned scorer when Stewart won possession in midfield and drove the ball forward. The Scottish midfielder found acres of space to run into Mohammedan Sporting’s final third before he found the bottom left corner with a vicious effort.
The second half was more of the same with the Mariners pushing forward to add more goals to their tally. Meanwhile, Andrey Chernyshov made wholesale changes at the break to disrupt Mohun Bagan’s intensity. He turned to Cesar Manzoki, Bikash Singh and Lalrinfela Khiangte to add more energy to their attack.
While the hosts kept imposing themselves even in the second period, Mohammedan Sporting gave a better account of themselves after an underwhelming first 45 minutes. With that said, Stewart had a great opportunity in the 66th minute but he scuffed his shot wide. He scored from an identical chance in the first period.
The likes of Manvir and Liston also had their fair share of chances but they failed to convert. Mohammedan SC, in between, had a few moments of inspiration but they were thoroughly the second best team on the night.
