New Delhi: With each passing game in the Indian Super League, the despair of teams chasing Mohun Bagan increases as the leaders extended their lead on top to 12 points with a 3-0 win over Punjab FC in Kolkata on Monday for a record-equalling ninth consecutive home game victory.
Bagan’s formidable attacking line-up was kept quiet in the first half but after the change of ends Jamie Mclaren turned the match around with a brace (56′, 90′) in between Liston Colaco’s 63rd minute strike at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan but not before Punjab’s Petros Giakoumakis hit the post on 55 minutes when the scores were still level.
It turned out to be the moment when the game turned on its head as a minute late on the opposite end Mclaren turned his marker Ivan Novoselec and unleashed a low volley that evaded that hands of Ravi Kumar, who had made two sharp saves before to keep the score goalless till then.
Once Mclaren’s shot crept in, Punjab were up against it as their entire game plan wa sbuilt on frustrating Punjab and look to feed of whatever scratch they get upfront.
Bagan began to get comfortable after taking the lead and it seemed just a matter of time before they would score again and they duly did three minutes after the hour mark when Colaco’s hopeful cross from a tight angle evaded Stewart’s leg as well as Kumar’s hand to nestle into the far post.
Punjab then made it worse for themselves as Asis Pradhan made a silly error when he tried to return a pass to Kumar from top of the box for Jason Cummings to snatch the ball and lay it for Cummings to slot home into an empty net for his eight goal of the campaign.
Record-touching win
With their win, Bagan improved to 46 points from 20 games, ahead of Jamshedpur by 12 points after playing two more game. The Mariners are the first team to qualify for the play-offs, riding on 14 wins and two draws.
It was Bagan’s ninth consecutive win at home that put them level with FC Goa for most successive home game victories, while notching up their 12th clean sheet.
Bagan now need two wins in their four remaining games to become the first team to defend the ISL Shield and travel to Kochi to face Kerala Blasters on February 15 while Punjab, who remained ninth with 23 points from 18 games, travel to Bhubaneswar to meet Odisha FC on February 10.
Mohun Bagan defeated Punjab FC 3-0 to become the first team to qualify for the play-offs of the Indian Super League this season Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
