Mohun Bagan trounce Mohammedan Sporting in Durand Cup opener

New striker Salva Chamorro scored the goals for the Mariners.

Mohun Bagan kicked off their Durand Cup 2019 campaign in splendid fashion, with a compelling 2-0 victory over rivals Mohammedan Sporting in the mini-Kolkata Derby on Friday at the Salt Lake Stadium. Two quick-fire headers from Salva Chamorro in the first half were enough to get Kibu Vicuna’s reign off to a winning start.

The Mariners gave debuts to nine new signings, operating in a 4-4-2 formation in the Spaniard’s first game. Mohammedan began the game with three foreign stars in Kareem Nurain, Mudde Musa and Arthur Kouassi in a defensive 5-3-2 style. While Bagan handed the three Spaniards Chamorro, Joseba Beitia and Fran Morante their bows.

Watch: Mohun Bagan 2-0 Mohammedan Sporting Club highlights

The game began with a bang from Vicuna’s side, who took the lead in the second minute after Beita’s free-kick found Salva rising over everyone to powerfully head in his debut goal. The Black Panthers were under pressure from the first minute and despite attempts to penetrate through their opposition's defence, they failed to deliver the final product.

Alexander Romario Jesuraj, loaned in from FC Goa, looked lively and also had a shot sail just wide in the early minutes. However, Bagan doubled their lead in the 21st minute. Surabuddin Mollick levelled in a neat pass to send Ashutosh Mehta through, as the right-back sent in a floating cross which Chamorro slotted into the goal to complete his brace.

Bagan dominated proceedings throughout the half after that, linking up and moving well as a unit. Beitia looked especially promising as the midfield general, pinging passes all around the field and linking defence and attack with utmost flair.

However, the Black Panthers received a golden opportunity to pull one back in the 45th minute, when Musa won possession in midfield and flicked in a clever ball to Kouassi, whose powerful header was saved by a diving Shilton Paul.

Subrata Bhattacharjee’s unit also had the second-half’s first chance, when Amir Hossain’s shot was parried off into the side-netting. Chamorro almost had an opportunity to seal his hat-trick in the 61st minute, but he couldn’t guide Dhanachandra Singh’s floating cross on target. Shilton was again called into action in the 68th minute, when Mohammed Amirul’s shot from out wide was held confidently by the Mariners' #1.

The Mohammedan substitute received another opportunity, later on, to get one back, when he found the ball inside the box, but his left-footed attempt went well wide of the target.

Bagan almost caused an embarrassment for themselves in the 82nd minute, when Beitia’s slip allowed the Black Panthers to surge through on goal. However, Tirthankar Sarkar put his shot horribly wide even after being in a one-on-one situation with Paul.

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The Black Panthers had another try at getting one back late in the 90th minute, when Sarkar’s clever chip fooled the Mariners' defenders, but Sovan Sen’s shot was too weak to go in. Bagan took things easy to sail to a comfortable win, getting off to a perfect start in the tournament.

Vicuna’s side will take the field in the Durand Cup once again on 8th  August when they have a much-anticipated clash against cross-city rivals ATK. Mohammedan Sporting, on the other hand,  will look to stay afloat in the tournament when they take on the Indian Navy two days later.