FCBU storm into Durand quarter-finals defeating Mohammedan 2-0

FCBU Media 

FC Bengaluru United (FCBU) got the better of torrid ground conditions and a marquee opposition as they pulled off a spectacular 2-0 win over Mohammedan Sporting in their final group game of the Durand Cup at the Kalyani Stadium in Kolkata. Both teams struggled with a sluggish outfield, but it was FCBU who remained dogged in attack and finally scored in the 64th minute through James Singh. The Bengaluru team were then awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the game that was smartly converted by Luka Majcen. With this win, FCBU enter the quarterfinals as group leaders.

The match got off to a sluggish start with both teams struggling to come to terms with the slushy conditions. Incessant morning rain resulted in huge puddles on the pitch and consequently, most of the action was confined to the wings. Crosses and long balls held sway with both teams struggling to string together a series of quick passes thanks to the outfield conditions.  FCBU seemed to have the better of the conditions early on; Yumnam Gopi Singh got a shot on goal that was saved by the goalkeeper in the 7th minute, a corner taken by Sanju Pradhan in the 27th minute was neatly deflected by the goalkeeper, Ronaldo Oliviera followed this up with another shot on goal in the next minute only to have the Sporting goalkeeper once again put in the save. Sporting slowly seemed to get into their groove with a series of corners and half chances, but it was a clear struggle for both the teams, with very little action in the middle and both unable to find men in the box to convert the half chances.

At half time the score was 0-0, with both teams having had some half chances, but failing to convert, thanks to the difficult ground conditions. The ball kept stopping in the puddles and both defensive lines were under pressure trying to deal with the long balls through the air before they skidded off the pitch.  

Both teams began the second half cautiously, with Sporting getting a half chance soon in, their corner deflecting wide off the post.  FCBU kept chipping away at the Sporting defence and finally the deadlock was broken in the 64th minute. A corner taken by Ronaldo Oliveira was smartly headed in by James Singh to get FCBU on the scoreboard. Given the ground conditions, this was perhaps the only way a team could get onto the scoreboard and FCBU made the most of the opportunity presented.

Feeling the pressure, Sporting began to up the ante, but the FCBU defence held firm, Kunzang Bhutia pulling off a spectacular save in the 78th minute, coming off the line and pulling in a smart save to a short taken from close range. Sporting were awarded a free kick in the 86th minute, which was once again cleared by Bhutia. Five minutes extra time was awarded and with things getting tense, frustrations began to spill onto the pitch. Sporting appealed for a penalty in the 93rd minute, but it was FCBU who were awarded a penalty in the 94th minute after substitute Nihal Colaco was fouled inside the box. Luka Majcen held his nerve, stepped calmly up to the plate to seal the deal 2-0 in FCBU’s favour in the 95th minute.

With this win, FCBU end the group stage unbeaten with 9 points and go into the quarterfinals as Group A leaders.    

 

Mohammedan Sporting secure I-League return after 2-0 win over Bhawanipore

 AIFF Media 

Mohammedan Sporting made sure of their place in the 2020-21 edition of the Hero I-League as they bested local rivals Bhawanipore FC in their Hero I-League Qualifiers 2020 match on Friday (October 16, 2020) at the Kalyani Stadium — returning to the competition after a gap of seven years. Goals from Vanlalbiaa Chhangte and Gani Nigam gave the Black Panthers a 2-0 win, which enables them to tie down first place in the competition despite one round of fixtures still to play.

The win takes Mohammedan, who last played in the Hero I-League in the 2013-14 season, to nine points with one match to play, three ahead of Bhawanipore — who also have one game remaining on the final day. However, they cannot overtake Mohammedan owing to an inferior head-to-head record after today’s result.

The first half of the ‘virtual final’ began in a fiery manner right from kick-off and in just the third minute, Mohammedan Sporting looked destined to take the lead through Vanlalbiaa Chhangte. The ball fell to the right-winger inside the box from a free-kick and he launched a powerful shot on goal from close range, only to be denied by a diving Shilton Paul, who made a terrific reflex save.

The opportunity set the tone for the rest of the game between the two local rivals as Mohammedan kept more possession and Bhawanipore looked to play on the counter-attack — a strategy which had paid rich dividends for Sankarlal Chakraborty and his team in their two previous games.

Midfielder Firoj Ali came close to finding the target from long range for the Black Panthers in the 18th minute, with his shot being blocked away for a corner. Six minutes later, Bhawanipore’s star forward Philip Adjah almost gave his side the lead on the other end of the pitch. Latching on to a weak clearance, the Ghanaian targeted Priyant Singh’s near post from the edge of the penalty area but saw his effort get deflected, hit the post and go back into play.

On the very next attack, in the 27th minute, Mohammedan claimed the go-ahead goal through Chhangte — who was not to be denied this time by Shilton. The move began with some beautiful build-up play between Chhangte and Willis Plaza down the right flank, with the latter finding SK Faiaz inside the box with a pinpoint through-pass. The forward laid it off for an onrushing Chhangte with a delectable first touch and the winger rounded Shilton to score and give his side the lead.

Bhawanipore sparked into life after the goal as they looked to find the equalizer before the break. Enjamul Hoque wasted a useful crossing opportunity in the 32nd minute and five minutes later, Adjah came close again — as he latched on to a chipped through-ball and looked to chip an advancing Priyant Singh but his shot only found the side netting.

With two minutes to go, Bhawanipore’s Subhankar Das tried his luck with a rasping drive from long range, which went just wide of the target as the two teams went into the breather with the Black Panthers in front by one goal.

Sankarlal opted to make attacking changes in the second half as his side went in hunt of the equalizer. Eight minutes after the restart, Pankaj Moula, who already has two goals to his name in the tournament, found himself on the end of a cross from the left flank but his header was deflected wide for a corner.

As the match wore on, the tension levels began to intensify, with the tackles flying in at both ends. In the 64th minute, Adjah had another glorious chance to put his side back level as he cut in from the left flank after beating two defenders. In a one-on-one situation with the keeper, his shot was straight at Priyant as another chance went begging for the side in blue.

Bhawanipore were then made to pay for their missed chances in the 67th minute as substitute Gani Nigam doubled Mohammedan’s lead. Safiul Rahaman swung in a free-kick from the right, which came off Monotosh Chakladar and reached Nigam at the far post, who chested the ball calmly and slotted home through Shilton’s legs to extend his side’s advantage.

Despite the setback, Bhawanipore continued to pour men forward and in the 79th minute, they looked poised to reduce the deficit — only to be denied by a brilliant save. Avinabo Bag played in a swerving cross for Jiten Murmu, who headed the ball on target but Priyant acrobatically dived to his right to turn the ball away for a corner.

Two minutes from full time, Mohammedan substitute Abhishek Rijal almost made it three for his side with a free header from close range but his effort was just wide. In the end, the Black Panthers saw out the game with ease, even though Bhawanipore threw the kitchen sink at it and made it three wins in three to complete their return to the Hero I-League.

After the match,  Mohammedan’s assistant coach Saheed Ramon stated, “It’s a great feeling for all of us to qualify for the Hero I-League. It means a lot to us. Qualifying this time is a very good thing for the club and our supporters.”

Talking about the game, he said, “We had studied Bhawanipore’s game and knew that they are strong on the counter-attack. We put out our strategy according to that and it worked well.”

Bhawanipore FC head coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said, “The defeat is disappointing, of course. We knew that Mohammedan are a strong team and they played well. We had our fair share of chances and if we could convert them, the result would have been different. Now, our focus on the next match against ARA FC on October 19.”

On the last matchday on Monday (October 19, 2020), Mohammedan Sporting will face FC Bengaluru United at the VYBK Stadium while Bhawanipore will take on ARA FC in Kalyani.

Hero I-League Qualifier 2020 to get underway on October 8

AIFF Media 

The Hero I-League Qualifier 2020 is all set to kick-start the 2020-21 football season at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata, and the Kalyani Municipal Stadium, in Kalyani, West Bengal, as five clubs will battle it out for a single qualification spot, beginning on Thursday, October 8, 2020. 

The Qualifiers are set to be played in a round-robin format, with the following five teams facing each other once: 

• ARA FC
• Bhawanipore FC
• Garhwal FC
• FC Bengaluru United
• Mohammedan SC

The team that finishes at the top of the table after matchday five, enters the 2020-21 Hero I-League. 

“The Hero I-League qualifiers are an important event as it gives a number of teams the chance to qualify for this pan-India league,” said AIFF Leagues CEO Mr. Sunando Dhar. 

“It is unfortunate that these teams missed out on the opportunity to gain promotion last season due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he continued. “That is why this is a unique opportunity for them to make it to the Hero I-League this season. Wishing them all the very best in their endeavors.”

 

S Thomas the first Federation Cup winning coach passes away

S Thomas, football player of the 60s, who turned up for the top clubs of India and coached the first Federation Cup winning team, ITI passed away today early morning at his residence. 

Thomas was 77 years old and was suffering from heart ailment. He left his only daughter, unfortunately, Thomas lost his wife only fifty days ago. 

During the heydays, Thomas played for East Bengal (63-66) and Mohammedan Sporting (67-71). He represented Karnataka in Santosh Trophy for five years.

Former state footballer Ramanna dies in Kolkata

Source: BDFA & Ei Samay

Kolkata Maidan Folklore has it that that supporters of Mohammedan Sporting would chant 
Shawan ka mahina, Mohammedan kare shor, Ramanna kare center, Papanna kare score while watching them turning out for their favorite team. 

That was the 60's era and the chant was taken from a Hindi number, which was very popular at that time. They were the brother duo from Mysore who swayed Kolkata Maidan, much before the arrival of Habib-Akbar from Hyderabad. 

Ramanna breathed his last at a government hospital in Kolkata in the morning of Monday, April 4, 2016. He was 77 years old and was unwell for the last three months. 

Ramanna remained bachelor all his life, made Kolkata his home and did not return Karnataka. 

Ramanna’s performance in the Santhosh Trophy 1962 caught everyone’s attention and he was directly picked by the Kolkata club. He played for East Bengal in the 1964 and 65 and then moved to Mohammedan Sporting in 1966.

He returned to Bangalore joined CIL in 1967, the very next season Ramanna went to Kolkata again to Mohammedan Sporting, and donned Black and White color till his retirement in 1973. Ramanna’s brother duo Papanna came back to Bangalore and joined ITI.  

Ramanna’s also had another brother named Rajanna – Papanna, Rajanna, and Rammana formed a formidable trio in the footballing circle in the state. 

KSFA and BDFA condoled the demise of the great son of the state. 

One minute of silence was observed during BDFA B Division RBI Vs Southern Blues match at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Tuesday, April 5.  

[PICS] Bengaluru FC Vs Mohammedan Sporting, I-League, 2013-14

[LIVE] Airtel I-League 2013-14 - Bengaluru FC Vs Mohammedan Sporting

Airtel I-League 2013-14
Round 4  Sunday, October 10, 2013  Bangalore Football Stadium Kick-off: 4 pm
Scorer: John Johnson -11', Sean Rooney-28'	2	-	1	Scorer: Joshimar-78'
Bengaluru FC: Pawan Kumar; Vishal Kumar, Curtis Osano, John Johnson (C), Keegan Perreira; Malemnganba Meitei, John Menyongar, Thoi Singh, Darren Caldeira, Beikhokei Beongaichho; Sean Rooney Sub: Bruno Colaso, NS Manju, Robin Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Rino Anto, Karan Sawhney, Sian Hangal
Mohammedan Sporting Club: Sukhwinder Singh; Dhanarajan (C), Sandeep Sangha,  ; Penn Orji, Collin Abranches, Gagandeep Singh, Rahesh Masih, Samson Ramengmawia, Jerry Zirsangha; Joshimar, Tolgay Ozbey Sub: Antony Sonen, Ajay Singh, Kanhtang Paite, Israil Gurung, Justin Stephen, Somnath Khara, Basanta Singh
LIVE UPDATES
90+3' Ref blows the whistle peep-peep-peep. a convincing win, BFC stays on the top of the table! 90' +3 added to the time. 89' Robin misses one this time, clashed with the defender, lying on the ground. 87' A good effort from Chhetri - dribbles pass the central defender and places the ball, misses by a whisker.  86' Few mins back, Robin was replaced by Beikho, what a game the later had!  83' A great attempt from Robin Singh from the left. 78' Joshimar scores, reduce margin for MdSp. 46' 2nd half starts, 2 changes for BFC Chhetri in Meitei out and Rino Anto in Vishal kumar out 45+1 half-time, excellent display of the game!  45' 1 minute added time39' corner for MdSp, taken in a diff. variation, but wasted. 38' Freekick wasted by Tolgay! 37' Joshimar pulled down gently outside the box, freekick for MdSp from a good spot  35.30' Substitution for Md. Sp - Ajay Singh in Manandeep out  32' A great display of the game from Ashley's wards. started from their own penalty box and went till the opponents's box with loosing possession. great fitness level.   28' G-O-O-A-L, one more, a header again, and this time from Aussie Sean Rooney from Thoi's center.  24' ... and John's brilliant header-goal, only if you are interested, only here - http://www.gcsstars.com/2013/10/pics-bengaluru-fc-vs-mohammedan.html 23' Md Sp trying to come back to the game.   11' G-O-O-A-L and this is what we predicted? Johnson's goal from Beikho's corner. This is insane, third time in a row.     9. BFCs attack from the left wing, Malemn takes a a rather wayward long ranger.    6.10' MdSp got two back-to back corners, the first corner from Sandeep was dipping in, Pawan kumar clears it. 5.15 good display by Pen in the midfield, gave to tolgay  3' first attack for BFC from right flank, Rooney carries, floats to the box. 2.23' THrowin for MdSp.   1.30' Darling of the crowd Johnson clears a rather innocuous ball. 0.1 Match starts, BFC attacking from left to right. Hello folks, R-4 of Airtel I-League and the BFC Vs MdSp this time and GCSStars.com will go live from 3.30 pm, well before the kick-off!

Bengaluru FC look for third straight win

Quite a contradictory setting - a team riding on the top after a pair of back-to-back wins and their opponent lying at the bottom with two losses from as many matches. 

Confident Bengaluru FC, unbeaten, sitting pretty at the top with 7 points and goal difference of +4 and then juxtaposed Mohammedan Sporting, yet to open their account with a goal difference of -5. 

So, are the spectators going to see a David vs. Goliath fight? Well, that's not something in Bengaluru FC gaffers mind, "We treat each team equally, and we’ll go in tomorrow's match just like any other match. The league is just 3 rounds old, you can't really say anything by looking at the table." Ashley further adds, "They might be at the bottom of the points table, but they are a good team with quality foreigners!" 

Nigerian Abdul Aziz Moshood, popularly known as Bola bhai, is a worried man. Mainstay in defense, Luciano Sobrosa, who helped Mohammedan Sporting to win Durand Cup is out injured, his midfield maestro Penn Orje is not fully fit, and Australian striker Tolgay Ozbey is far from his goal scoring form. But he puts up a brave face, "We might have lost the matches, but we played well relatively, and mind it we were playing against better opponents." 

Is it an away win or a safe draw that is going in his mind? He smiles, "Be it home or away, it doesn't matter to us, my endeavor is to get points." 

Bola Bhai is quite impressed with the progress of the JSW-sponsored team, "They have really played well!". He is not deterred with his opponents' physical aspect and fitness-level, adds, "Football is a skill game, if they are physically strong, we can counter them by moving the ball around." 

The match kicks-off at 4 pm, Bangalore Football Stadium. 

Fixture: I-League 2nd Division Final Rounds

Leg 2 (Final)

• Monday, 15 Apr, 2013: Rangdajied United FC 1 Vs Bhawanipore FC 0   
• Monday, 15 Apr, 2013: Langsing Sports Club 1 Vs Mohammedan Sporting Club 1    
• Tuesday, 16 Apr, 2013: Southern Samity 2 Vs Mumbai Tigers 1    
• Thursday, 18 Apr, 2013: Mohammedan Sporting Club 1 (Charles Dzisah-[p]) Vs Southern Samity 0    
• Thursday, 18 Apr, 2013: Bhawanipore FC 3 (Lima-2, Dipendu Duary) Vs Langsning FC 3 (Daniel Bidemi, Marlanki, Joel Bidemi)   
• Friday, 19 Apr, 2013: Mumbai Tigers 0 Vs Rangdajied United FC 1 (J Kelechi-48')   
• Sunday, 21 Apr, 2013: Bhawanipore FC 4 (Lima-12', 57', 74', Barreto-14') Vs Southern Samity 1 (Basanta Singh-63')   
• Sunday, 21 Apr, 2013: Mohammedan Sporting Club 2 (Charles Dzisah-83', Alfred-90'+4') Vs Mumbai Tigers 0    
• Monday, 22 Apr, 2013: Langsning FC 1 (Ayeni) Vs Rangdajied United FC 3 (Babatunde-3)  
• Wednesday, 24 Apr, 2013: Langsning FC 3 (Daniel Bidemi Ayeni–68', Nawab Zeeshan Rahaman [OG]-73', Marlangki Suting–79') Vs Mumbai Tigers 1 (Durga Boro–31')
• Wednesday, 24 Apr, 2013: Rangdajied United FC 3 (Babatunde–16', 40', 86') Vs Southern Samity 1 ( Kaushik Biswas–25')     
• Thursday, 25 Apr, 2013: Bhawanipore FC 0 Vs Mohammedan Sporting Club 0    
• Saturday, 27 Apr, 2013: Rangdajied United FC Vs Mohammedan Sporting Club     
• Saturday, 27 Apr, 2013: Mumbai Tigers Vs Bhawanipore FC     
• Sunday, 28 Apr, 2013: Southern Samity Vs Langsning FC 

Leg 1

• Saturday, March 30, 2013, 1.45 pm: Southern Samity 1 (Imran Khan-51') Vs Rangdajied United FC 1 (BabaTunde Ayomide-30')    
• Saturday, March 30, 2013, 4.15 pm: Langsning FC 0 Vs Mumbai Tigers 1 (Sunil Kumar-45'+2')     
• Sunday, March 31, 2013, 4.15 pm: Mohammedan Sporting Club 0 Vs Bhawanipore FC 0
• Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 1.30 pm: Bhawanipore FC 1 (Jose Ramirez Barreto-90'+2') Vs Rangdajied United FC 0    
• Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 4 pm: Mumbai Tigers 3 (NP Pradeep-64', Demba Dikhate-79', 89') Vs Southern Samity 0    
• Wednesday, April 3, 2013, 4 pm: Mohammedan Sporting Club 2 (Younes Balthaw-52', Charles Dzisah-58'[p]) Vs Langsning FC 1 (Joel Sunday-44')   
• Friday, April 5, 2013, 1.30 pm: Langsning FC 3 (Joel Sunday-11', Daniel Bidemi-73', Victor-90'+3') Vs Bhawanipore FC 3 (Hudson Lima-7', Yousef-26', Jagannath Sana-70')   
• Friday, April 5, 2013, 4 pm: Southern Samity 0 Vs Vs Mohammedan Sporting Club 1 (Alfred Jaryan-69')   
• Saturday, April 6, 2013, 4 pm: Rangdajied United FC 3 (Bansha Rai-44', Abocha Singh-53', Shin Hojun-81') Vs Mumbai Tigers 1 (NP Pradeep-2')   
• Monday, April 8, 2013, 1.30 pm: Bhawanipore FC 3 (Barreto-26', 64'-p, 84') Vs Mumbai Tigers 2 (Demba Dikhate-7', 62')   
• Monday, April 8, 2013, 4 pm: Mohammedan Sporting Club 1 (Jerry Zirsingha) Vs Rangdajied United FC 0
• Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 4 pm: Langsning FC 2 (Samson Nongrum-69', Avijit Das [self]-78') Vs Southern Samity 0    
• Thursday, April 11, 2013, 1.30 pm: Mumbai Tigers 1 (Bikash Jairu-90'+2') Vs Mohammedan Sporting Club 0    
• Thursday, April 11, 2013, 4 pm: Southern Samity 2 (Suraj Mondal-11', Marcos-90') Vs Bhawanipore FC 2 (Baretto-29', Hudson Lima-45'+2')   
• Friday, April 12, 2013, 4 pm: Rangdajied United FC Vs Langsning FC

HAL move on to I-League division 1

Great news for the football lovers of the garden city! Next year’s football season will not be a dull and boring affair. The aircraftsmen make the cut, move on to the elite division, and bring Bangalore once again in the Indian football map.

Right from the beginning of the final phase, HAL was on the right track. It was coming alright; however, they have to wait till the last match and some anxious moments to make it happen.

Elated HAL coach, Muralidharan, finally thanked his players for bringing HAL to the top division of I-league. It was a dream he saw when he took the charge of this team some 2 seasons back.

HAL only needed a draw to make the cut. The game started in a very similar fashion, playing from left to right HAL tried to keep the possession of the ball. They were tad cautious; failed to make any positive attack in the first 30 minute. Xavier, who had an off-day today, messed-up in few occasions!

Sesa wards took the advantage of a complacent HAL defense - striker Israil Gurung passed a good cross for Selwyn Fernandes, the later was left unmarked, and scored the goal from a header.

Perhaps this jolt was needed for HAL to come back into the game. They looked little frustrated on their campaign - making some silly challenges and getting booked by the official.

When everyone thought that HAL would leave the pitch with a one-goal deficit in the lemon break, it was again Satish Kumar jr brought the aircraftsmen into the game.

The much awaited equalizer came from a nice move initiated by medio Jotin Singh – Jotin puts the ball for Xavier on the right flank, he receives and puts for Satish Kumar jr in the middle, Satish plays and quick one-one with Murali, and finally sends an accurate curling left-footed shot into the top-right corner of the net from out side the penalty box.

Making a comeback in the I-League division 1, HAL expects to make a competent team. Coach Muralidharan, has eyed on few promising players from Vasco and Malabar United. HAL sports secretary JoPaul Rajan assured about conforming to the AFC guidelines as per schedule. About retaining HAL talents from migrating to other top Indian clubs, Rajan said, “Being a public sector enterprise, we’ve certain limitation on shelling out big amount. We’ll try to get them into HAL roll for a secured life”.
 

I-league division 2 truly has been a flavor for the public sector teams. Other day ONGC qualified for the first time in I-league division 1 and now HAL re-enters in the big league. Ditto otherwise for the teams like Mohammedan Sporting and Vasco. The once regular in the I-league top division, these teams performed below par, and will fight from the qualifying stages in the next edition.


Vasco split points with Sporting

A disappointed Vasco, who already knew their fate before taking the field for the final match, played a 1-1 draw against hapless Vasco Mohammedan Sporting. Joel Sequeira gave Vasco the lead in the first-half. Later Sporting captain, Jothi Kumar drew-level in the 67th minute.


Result:

• HAL 1 (Sathish Kumar jr-44') Sesa 1 (Selwyn-29')
• Vasco 1 (Joel-35') Md. Sp. 1 (Jothi Kumar-67')

Next Match - May 25 (Round 7):

• Oil India versus Malabar United, 2 pm
• NISA, Manipur versus ONGC, 4 pm

ONGC seal first division spot

Playing like a true champ, ONGC defeated Sesa Football Academy, Goa convincingly and booked their berth for the coveted I-League division 1. Early strike by the strikers Babatunde and Tarif Ahmed made the difference and the rookies from Sesa never got a chance to get back to the game.

ONGC clinched the license to play for the I-league

division 1 next season with absolute dominance. Their endeavor in the final leg has been a revelation. They have played like a champion, wining all but one match so far, and already achieved what they wanted before playing their last round match.

The oilmen took the field to make early inroads. They got their first goal in the 5th minute thru Nigerian Badmus Babatunde. 13 minutes later it was time for Babatunde’s partner Tarif to score the second goal. Sitting pretty on a two-goal lead, ONGC played posessional, controlled the game and kept the Sesa wards at bay.

After coming very close to I-League division 1 in the last two seasons, the Mumbai outfit finally made it this time.


Pathetic display by Mohammedan

Mohammedan Sporting continued their dismal show by playing a 1-1 draw with Malabar United. Mohammedan took the field leaving behind their foreign imports that were unceremoniously released by the club management owing to pathetic performance in the final rounds of I-League division 2.

They started-off in a shaky note, Malabar quickly utilized the situation and took lead in the 8th minute of the match by a goal from Nigerian Loveday. Neelandra Deewan scored the equalizer in 56th minute.

Mohammedan should consider themselves lucky for not conceding any more goals. Malabar should have scored at least 4 more goals. They simply could not score goals, missed penalty, missed easiest of the easy sitters.

Result:

• Malabar Utd  (Loveday-8’) 1 Mohammedan Sporting (Neelandra-56’) 1
• ONGC (Babatunde-5' and Tarif-18’) 2 Sesa Football Academy 0

Next Match - May 24 (Round 7):

• HAL versus Sesa Football Academy, 2 pm
• Vasco versus Mohammedan Sporting, 4 pm

Mohammedan waste points again, out of contention for division 1

The Kolkata powerhouse could not hold on to the 1st half one-goal lead and split points with Oil India. With this draw they are mostly out of race for qualifying next season’s I-league division 1. Vasco thrashed Malabar United 4-0 in the other match and kept their hunt alive for division 1.

Mohammedan took the field minus 2 regular players, Zoheb and Babin due to double booking. They meant business and started attacking from the beginning.

In 21st minute, Oil India GK somehow manages to avert defender Sanjay Parte’s long ranger for a corner. Satyajit Basu takes the corner, Amrit Pal Singh who was out of injury and playing his first match came from nowhere, and heads the ball to the goal.

10 minutes later from a nice thru from Theo, Edu speedily enters into the Oil India box from the right side and back-heels to Theo. The later over-ran him and fails to covert from a nice move.

Mohammedan medio, Satyajit Basu, who didn’t have a decent game today, committed a big mistake in the 33rd minute, he chest-traps to clear the ball from defense, an opponent player ball picks the ball from the open area just outside the box, and passes to foreign striker Waheed. Waheed shots the ball outside the crossbar.

Oil India kept attacking in the later part of 1st half, keeper Nassem Akhtar kept them at bay by with some splendid saves.

Mohammedan defense never looked settled and the oilmen took the advantage to score the equalizer in 70th minute from Zaidin Hmar.

Soon after the goal, veteran striker Dipendu (replacing Theo) and Nilendra Deewan was brought in to propel Mohammedan attack.

Edu, who looked focused, had a good game today. He engineered several attacks from the left wing, however, his shots were either saved by the keeper or missed by a whisker.

Everybody thought that Mohammedan Sporting should qualify to the next round, it has been a pathetic display by them so far!

Result:

• Mohammedan Sporting Club 1 (Amrit Pal Singh-21') Oil India 1 (Zaidin Hmar-70')
• Vasco 4 (Joy Ferrao-26' and 65', Koko Sakibo-25' and 90+1' [penalty]) Malabar United 0

Next Match - May 17 (Round 5):

• HAL versus ONGC, 2 pm
• NISA, Manipur versus Sesa Football Academy, 4 pm  

Mohammedan Sporting struggle to beat Sesa; Tarif’s trick floors oil men

Mohammedan made a heavy weather of defeating bottom-ranked Sesa by 2-1. Theo and defender Debkumar Sashmal scored a goal each in either half. Jaiganesh Koltekar scored one for Sesa in the 2nd half. In an earlier rather

entertaining match played today, ONGC brightened their position to qualify for the final round by bulldozing the other public sector team, Oil India 4-1.

National team striker, Tarif Ahmed scored the first hat-trick of the final edition.
 

Lagging 4th behind HAL, ONGC, and Vasco, Mohammedan needed to win this match in a convincing fashion to stay in contention for promotion. Mohammedan scored the first goal in the 38th minute in Liberian Theodore.

Both the teams opened up many chances and missed as many in the game. In the early second-half, Sesa came back into the game by a goal from rookie Jaiganesh Koltekar. 5 minutes after the equalizer, Theo took the ball from the left flank and penetrated inside the box, Jothikumar who was rightly-positioned, failed to connect the ball properly.

In the 59th minute, substitute Nilendra Deewan took a horrible wide shot away from the goal. It came to him from a deflection from Theo’s shot, which was perfectly floated from the right-flank.

Sesa striker Israil Gurung, who broke an off-side trap, was set alone with the keeper in the front in the 68th minute. However, he was tripped down by defender Samuel Shore at the top of the penalty box. Mid-fielder, Prathesh Shirodkar’s free kick was shot wide.

Mohammedan took the lead in 79th minute, Edu was cutting in dangerously

from the left flank until the defender cleared it for corner. Edu took the corner that was meant for Theo, which the later closely missed, finally opportunistic defender Debkumar Sashmal who closely followed and placed the ball into the goal.

Sesa later came back and started pressurizing Mohammedan defense, but failed to keep the ball into the goal-area.

Post match comments:

Shabbir Ali, coach, Mohammedan Sporting: Disappointing show again, never

seen my team playing so badly. I thought we would pull this out easily, but it turned otherwise. Other challenge is that two important players are out for the next match due to double booking. Don’t have options in all departments; have to shuffle the playing positions.

Clifford Chukwuma, coach, Sesa: Our boys created many opportunities but lacked in penetration and final touch. Even blew several set-pieces from crucial positions. Also, we’re missing our main striker, who is injured and played an important role in Goa’s Santosh Trophy victory last year.

Theodore Sunday Wrobeh, scorer, Mohammedan Sporting: We’ve won today, and there are 3 more rounds to play, so all is not lost, we need to come well in the remaining matches..

Result:

• ONGC 4 (Tarif Ahmed-28', 44', and 66' and Badmus Babatunde-38') beat Oil India ( H L Route-76')
• Mohammedan Sporting 2 (Theodore Sunday-38' and Debkumar Sashmal-79') beat Sesa Football Academy 1 (Jaiganesh Koltekar-49')

Next Match - May 13 (Round 4):

• Malabar United versus NISA, 2 pm
• HAL versus Vasco, 4 pm

HAL whacks Mohammedan Sporting

In a spectacular display of football, city giant HAL upset Mohammedan Sporting’s I-league division 1 plan with a 4 goal victory. In the other match played earlier today, Vasco defeated hapless NISA with a 2-0.

More than 10,000 football lovers turned out to witness this super Sunday game and shouted their heart out for their favorite team. HAL fans surely got their money’s worth as they saw many exhilarating moments in the match including a breathtaking goal by Xavier Vijaykumar.

If the first 25 minutes if the match belonged to Mohammedan, the rest essentially belonged to HAL! They scored 4 and came close to scoring another 4 in the match.

HAL made the first advance in the 4th minute of the match by a nice move from skipper Rajendra Prasad to Fredrick, the later shot was thwarted by a nice reflex from keeper Naseem Akhtar.

Showing urgency, Mohammedan made some quick raid to the opponent’s defense. In 20th minute, Edu received a brilliant pass which was cleared by a HAL defender for corner. Dead-ball expert Edu’s, corner shot not cleared by the HAL defense; Theo gets the ball in the muddle, and finally scores for his team.
 
After conceding the goal, HAL was trying hard to get back to the game. Satish Kumar (junior) set some good balls for his mates, which was wasted by Murali and Fredrick.

In 34th minute, Xavier’s harmless thru from the top of the penalty box was missed by the sporting defender, lucky to receive, Fredrick fails to put the ball on the right spot, and finally goalkeeper Naseem Akhtar saves it.

2 minutes later, the action was again centered on Xavier, who takes a classic curling left-footed shot from the right-corner of the box. The shot was so accurately dipped into the far post that the fully-stretched keeper couldn’t reach near the ball.

Thought HAL strikers made mess from some crucial moves, the equalizer was an outcome of continuous pressure from their end.

After changing ends, Sporting made some quick attacks, however, their strikers were heavily marked and failed to penetrate to the striking zone.

HAL took lead the in the 52nd minute - defender Anupam Sarkar’s sloppy defending proved costly as Nigerian Fredrick gained from the mistake, with no one to challenge him, he ran all alone with the ball, and placed it to the top-left corner of the net. Mohammedan Sporting keeper could not do much here.

Meanwhile, Brazillian Edu was doing what he is best known for – trying his luck on set-pieces and putting good crosses. However, Mohammedan lacked the eagerness to work out from the ground passes, and seldom were they given space by the HAL defense.

In 76th minute, Edu’s in-swerving free-kick from a foul near the right-side of the corner was somehow foiled by Amar Deb for a corner. The corner proved futile for Mohammedan and HAL made a quick counter attack. Seems no one from the Mohammedan defense could pick Xavier, and the came out scoring his 2nd (teams 3rd) goal of the match.

Mohammedan brought in veteran striker Dipendu Biswas and attacking mid-fielder Niledra Diwan from the reserve, however their introduction made hardly any difference for Mohammedan.

The real hero for HAL was definitely Satish Kumar (junior), his speedy runs from the left flank and then cutting inside the box created havoc in Mohammedan defense.

Murali made a mess of the situation in the 87th minute of the match – Xavier did well to cover a lot of ground and then passed to Murali, the later only had the keeper in front of him, rather than placing the ball, he took a wild shot that went above the goal spot. A minute later, another Murali shot was splendidly saved by Naseem Akhtar.

The climax was rightly kept for the last minute of the match. Another cross from Satish Kumar (junior) went for Xavier, goal keeper came out from the goal line, and charged the ball. The keeper missed the ball and it was out of his reach. Xavier only needed to push the ball, however, a niggling sprain deprived his from doing so, and Naseem came out and cleared the ball. Unfortunately for Mohammedan Sporting, the ball felled right front the skipper Rajendra Prasad. Looking that the keeper is out of his position, Rajendra Prasad accurately lobbed the ball to the goal, much to the delight of the thousands of crowd.


Post match comment:

Shabbir Ali, coach, Mohammedan Sporting: Truly disappointed, played very horrible game today. Makes our task really difficult! Now, even a draw today would have placed us in a better position. It’s difficult from now on. Though we’ve played with the tougher teams and we’ll play with the relatively weak teams, we’ve a challenging task to cut out.

Muralidharan, coach, HAL: We went out with a strategy and played as per our plans. Glad to say that all the players played their role and executed in perfection.

Xavier VijayKumar, veteran player, HAL: Great win for us, Md. Sporting is a strong team, winning by a big margin has lifted our moral, and that will help us for the rest of the matches. All the counter attacks were a part of the plan, and glad that it yielded result.
I do no have any intention to captain my team for now, there is less pressure, I'm enjoying it, and it is being reflected in my game.

Result:

• Vasco 2 (Joy Ferrao-60’ and Koko Sakibo-84’) NISA 0
• HAL 4 (XAVIER VIJAY KUMAR- 37’ and 77, Fredrick Okwagbe-52’, and Rajendra Prasad-90’+5) Mohammedan Sporting 1 (Theodore Sunday-21’)

Next Match - May 12 (Round 4):

• Oil India versus ONGC, 2 pm
• Sesa Football Academy versus Mohammedan Sporting, 4 pm

Mohammedan cut short NISA

Playing better football today, Mohammedan Sporting outclassed nippy NISA, Manipur 2-0. Foreign recruits, Theodore Sunday and Edu Escobar scored a goal in each half. In the earlier match, ONGC, riding on Babatunde’s goal defeated Vasco 1-0.

It was match of tactics over speed and stamina. Knowing that his lads would not be able to cope-up with speedy NISA, Mohammedan coach Shabbir Ali, played a posessional game.

Sporting meant business right from the starting of the game. In the very 1st minute, Edu floated a nice long ball for Jyothikumar, and Jyothikumar in turn made complete a mess of it. It was Edu’s turn in the 8th minute, he was completely caught unaware of a ball centered from right wing.

Theo made a good solo run in the 10th minute and gave the final pass for Edu, which the later failed to connect.

The midfield operated very well for Mohammedan with Jyotikumar making speedy runs from both sides in turn. The defense too, lead by Aussie Samuel Jordan and Anupam Sarkar carried out their role.

Mohammedan looked more composed today. Edu was sharper on the dead ball situations and Theo made several solo runs from the half.

NISA came close to scoring in the 35th minute with a nice move, Santosh Singh made a long area with the ball, and then crossed the ball from the right, the ball beat keeper Nassem but, couldn’t get into the direction of the goal.

Jyotikumar, operating quickly from the left flank was brought down in 38th minute. Set-piece expert, Edu took a curving free-kick to the left-post, the ball hit the keeper’s chest, Theo managed to get the ball on the rebound, and put it inside the net.

A serious lapse in defense from Debkumar Sashmal could have cost Sporting a goal in the 2nd minute of 2nd half. Theo continuously attacked from the front, however, he failed to the score any more goal. At times he took too long to move inside the box and later outsmarted by NISA defense. He should have scored at least 2 more goals today.

NISA made few quick counters, but they lacked the sharpness in the striking area.

Edu displayed some exemplary skills with the ball today, though he lacks on speed and tenacity, but he covered that with his some crisp-touches and error-free passes.

The match official was almost going to blow his long whistle, when the 2nd goal came for Mohammedan. Theo seized the ball from the opponent and passed it to medio Babin, who in turn, passed the ball from the penalty box region to Edu. Edu coming from the right side, shot the ball accurately to the goal.

Talking to GardenCity Soccer Stars, coach Shabbir Ali, sounded satisfied. He said the boys played better football today. He liked the way his boys created goal scoring opportunities, though missed many. However, he is confident about increasing the conversion rates. Striker Edu, who had a field day today, looked happy to be within the goals.

NISA coach, Lakhsmichand Singh blamed inexperience for the result today. “It is a learning experience for us, out guys lacks the experience needed in this level”. He will try to blood some rookies in the next game and expects to put up a better show.

Mohammedan Sporting plays against board leader HAL in their 3rd round match on Sunday, May 9, 4 pm.

Result:

• ONGC 1 (Badmus Babatunde-47’) Vasco Sports Club 0
• Mohammedan Sporting 2 (Theodore Sunday-38’ and Edu-90+3) NISA, Manipur 0

Next Match - May 8 (Round 3):

• Sesa Football Academy versus Oil India, 2 pm
• Malabar United versus ONGC, 4 pm