ISL 2023-24: Mohun Bagan edge past 9-man Bengaluru FC

The second half of this ISL encounter saw two Bengaluru FC players sent off.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat Bengaluru FC by a slender margin of 1-0 in a gruelling contest at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata tonight. The home team secured three points courtesy a 67th minute strike by Hugo Boumous, which brought curtains down to a tightly-contested passage of play that wasn’t providing any goals up until then.

The home team started off on a dismal note with their defensive shape going for the toss. Bengaluru’s Roshan Singh capitalised on it by pouncing upon abundant space near the opposition box in the seventh minute. However, his shot left a lot to be desired and didn’t trouble goalkeeper Vishal Kaith at all.

Juan Ferrando’s men struck back swiftly by optimising the sheer pace of their frontline. They began building up attacks gradually and found a fantastic opportunity in front of a Bengaluru defence that had gone haywire briefly. Liston Colaco opted to shoot from distance but the ball went way off target.

Bengaluru’s offensive endeavours often required more composure, which was testified by midfielder Rohit Kumar’s shot at goal in the 49th minute. The midfielder sighted space near the Mohun Bagan box but shot with less power than required to hand Kaith a convenient save.

The home team began gaining a gradual control over the proceedings in the final half hour though. The prolific duo of Jason Cummings and Hugo Boumous came to their rescue with the former getting to a loose ball and squaring off a pass that the French-Moroccan attacking midfielder calmly slotted behind Bengaluru goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

The Blues were unable to hold on to their shape thereafter and young midfielder Suresh Singh Wangjam committed an error in the 75th minute leading to his second yellow card and marching orders from this game. Dimitri Petratos was about to embark on a potentially goal-scoring move but Suresh brought the attacker down and reduced the visitors to 10 men at a crucial juncture in the game.

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The industrious Petratos broke into another move in injury time that led to Roshan Singh being sent off in the 92nd minute. With only Gurpreet between the Australian striker and the goal, Roshan resorted to fouling the forward and the referee responded to that by showing the 24-year-old the red card late into the proceedings. The Mariners didn’t cease control thereafter and ensured that they bagged all points available from the game.

Key Performer of the Match

Boumous was certainly the star of the show as he created two goal-scoring opportunities, crossed once, and maintained a 75% passing accuracy in addition to his timely goal that helped his team secure their second successive win of the season.

What’s best for both teams?

The Mariners will now travel down south to take on Chennaiyin FC in the latter’s backyard for their next ISL fixture on October 7. This will be succeeded by their AFC Cup encounter against Maziya at home. Bengaluru FC will host East Bengal FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on October 4 for their forthcoming game in the league.