KOLKATA: Bhawanipore FC dented Mohammedan Sporting Club’s title hopes in the Calcutta Premier Division ‘A’ after beating them 3-0 on Wednesday at Mohammedan Sporting Ground.

Continue reading “CFL 2019/20: Bhawanipore Put Three Past Mohammedan” →

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club square off with Bhawanipore FC on Wednesday afternoon aiming for a favourable result to strengthen and further their hopes as contenders to the Calcutta Premier Division ‘A’ title. Continue reading “Injury-Hit Mohammedan Aim To Draw Level With Peerless” →

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club went level on points with Calcutta Premier Division ‘A’ leaders Peerless SC following a 3-1 win over Kalighat Milan Sangha in a league meeting at Mohammedan Sporting Ground on Saturday afternoon. Continue reading “CFL 2019/20: Mohammedan Go Level At The Top” →

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club will look for a return to form in the Calcutta Premier Division ‘A’ when they face Kalighat Milan Sangha at Mohammedan Sporting Ground on Saturday. kick-off at 3 PM. Continue reading “Kalighat MS Are No Pushovers, Says Saheed Ramon” →

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club head coach Saheed Ramon says he is not frustrated by his team’s lack of composure in front of goal.

The Black Panthers have been creating plenty of goalscoring chances of late but they have converted a lot lesser than that, especially in recent games. Mohammedan SC have scored only 5 goals in their five Calcutta Premier Division ‘A’ matches thus far, however, according to Ramon, Mohammedan SC’s attack has improved, but he expects his charges to continue improving.

“It worries any team if you don’t score. We have to work on it as much as we can,” Ramon said. “We have been doing well, but we have to convert our chances. We are missing a lot of chances and if we were converting our chances we would be talking a different story now. But we are not looking down as a team. We are positive and we are not giving up.”

He also admitted that some of his players haven’t been at their best, but he doesn’t think ‘frustration’ is the right word to describe the situation that his team is faced with.

“It’s been looking a bit better, but in training you cannot produce a game-related situation where there are supporters’ expectations and so forth. I know that certain players can do better in terms of finishing, but for me, it’s not frustrating. We need to go back to the drawing board to deeply analyse and improve in all aspects.” Ramon continued.

“It’s a process that we need to work very hard on in order to make our players confident and relax in the situations that they are creating.  So we have to go out there again and work extra hard to make sure that they come out feeling a lot more confident. I believe in these boys, I believe in their qualities,” concluded the Nigerian mentor.

KOLKATA: “We started well,” reflected Mohammedan Sporting Club coach Saheed Ramon after his side collected a point against Calcutta Customs in their Calcutta Premier Division “A” clash on Monday. “We created many possibilities to score. The scoreline is not a true reflection of the match. We could have done better and collected the three points.”

Mohammed Amirul scored the equalising goal in the 76th minute after Customs had already netted the game’s opener in the 25th minute through Rajon Barman.

“After we scored the equaliser, we should have added another goal or two,” rued the Nigerian coach. “We could have done better to win this game, especially because we had several opportunities to score. Unfortunately, we couldn’t convert them.”

Watched by a vocal crowd at a near-packed Mohammedan Sporting Ground, the Black Panthers threw everything into the encounter, but Lady Luck was not on their side.

Mohammedan SC, still unbeaten, remain in fifth position on the log with 7 points, which is three points away from the table leaders, Bhawanipore FC.

“We want to get closer to the top,” added Ramon. “Teams above us will soon face each other and that could drastically influence positions at the top. We will take it game by game.”

“Our focus will be on the game against Mohun Bagan,” concluded Ramon. “The next few days will allow us some preparation time and we look forward to that encounter.”

KOLAKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club remained unbeaten in Calcutta Premier Division “A” after playing out a 1-1 draw with Calcutta Customs on Monday at Mohammedan Sporting Ground.

Despite being on the back-foot for most of the match, Customs opened the scoring in the first-half through Rajon Barman, but Mohammedan SC found the equaliser in the second-half through Mohammed Amirul.

The result means that Mohammedan SC now have 7 points from 5 match, being in fifth spot on the Calcutta Premier Division log.

Mohammedan SC were by far the better side, got an abundance of good goalscoring chances, but lady luck was not on their side. They will surely be kicking themselves for not burying numerous goal-scoring opportunities they created, especially in the later stages of the encounter.

But in the end, the result was perhaps a fair reflection of the action on show. Both teams had periods of dominance and both had numerous scoring opportunities.

Mohammedan SC had a few promising moments early on, but were kept in check by Customs’ defence of Emmanuel Chigozie and Sourav Das Gupta. It was at the other end, however, where the opening goal arrived and it was Rajon who scored from Philip Adjah’s pass to give Customs the lead in the 25th minute.

The setback galvanised Mohammedan SC into action and they poured forward in search of an equaliser. The Customs defence, while under pressure at this stage, held firm and ensured that they retained the advantage.

Customs were also clever throughout, using delaying tactics such as players going down for cramps to ensure the match was of a stop-start nature and prevent Mohammedan SC from finding their rhythm on attack.

Mohammedan SC came out of the sheds fired up to bring themselves back into contention, controlling the ball, winning set pieces and keeping Customs pinned into their own back third.

Albeit displaying plenty of technical ability with eye-catching combination plays the Mohammedan SC strikers were guilty of straying offside on several occasion and it looked as if the match will end in frustration for the Black Panthers.

But there was a late twist with Mohammedan SC’s persistence finally paying off in the 76th minute thanks to Amirul’s superb header from Musa Mudde’s cross which levelled the scores.

Having scored, Mohammedan SC showed more endeavour in attack and it took everything Customs had left in their tank to deny the late onslaught from The Black Panthers. Goalkeeper Sanjay Bhattacharya also made a number of telling saves to salvage a point for his side.

Mohammedan SC had an abundance of chances to score, while Customs basically got three opportunities. It shows again that not always the best team wins, as the Black Panthers fully deserved the three points after a fine performance being the better team through the 90 minutes of play.

KOLKATA: “We are creating a spirit of working together,” said Mohammedan Sporting Club coach Saheed Ramon. “The energy is good with everybody working towards one goal. You can see it when you observe for yourself that there is positive energy at our training session.”

Ramon took the team through the pre-match training session on Sunday morning as Mohammedan SC face Calcutta Customs tomorrow in what promises to be a mouth-watering Calcutta Premier Division “A” match. The encounter will kick-off at 3 PM at Mohammedan Sporting Ground.

In comparison to the first few weeks of the new season, Mohammedan SC have considerably stabilized and the latest win over George Telegraph should boost their confidence to the levels required to face Customs, who are chasing their first win of the campaign.

“We have a good squad of players to choose the best combination to face Customs,” commented Ramon. “We do not have the luxury of selecting matches, all the games we play are important.”

“Customs are a great side that plays with much enthusiasm,” added the Nigerian coach. “But they face us at a stage when we are hungry for points. We want to stay within touching distance of the log leaders. The match is going to be very tough for both teams but, from what I see in the camp, we are confident to collect maximum points. We are focusing to capitalize on our strengths.”

“We will field a balanced team that will be able to play according to plan and our intention to win.” the gaffer concluded.

Going into this game, Ramon has to ensure his players derived the required inspiration from the result against George Telegraph. The senior players must rise to the occasion and set an example for the younger lot to step up. Priaynt Singh in particular was outstanding with his fantastic saves that let the Black Panthers guard the lead. That level of commitment and passion from the entire team might see Mohammedan SC pull off another win.

KOLKATA:  “You can see that the players are getting more and more confident,” reflected Saheed Ramon after watching his side’s dominant display against George Telegraph yesterday. “We knew that we had to up our game, and I am glad we did just that.”

Desmos Arthur Kouassi, who was handed the Man of the Match award, scored a brace to give Mohammedan Sporting Club their first win of the 2019/20 Calcutta Premier Divsion ‘A’ campaign on Thursday.

“We played well though we should have scored more goals,” continued Ramon. “The opponents were difficult to break with their disciplined structured play. Our decision making also robbed us of some possibilities, while we conceded goal in a way that I thought was not necessary.”

“Overall I am pleased with the progress we are making,” added the Nigerian coach. “We are still working on certain aspects of the game though. I thought some elements of our passing game needs improving, but the progress is visible with every game.”

Ramon heaped praise on his team for collecting the three points against a resolute George Telegraph. “A player such as Vanlalbiaa Chhangte for example is just a marvel to watch. He has an excellent grasp of what we expect of him. He is a fantastic player.”

Vanlalbiaa provided the cross that resulted in Kouassi’s fantastic finish to open the scoring.

The Black Panthers will face Calcutta Customs next on Monday at Mohammedan Sporting Ground.

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club ended a three-match winless streak in the Calcutta Premier Division ‘A’ in style with a clinical 2-1 win over George Telegraph on Thursday at Mohammedan Sporting Ground.

After a barren first-half, Arthur Kouassi (63′ & 68′) struck twice in quick succession before George Telegraph reduced the deficit through Echezona Anyichie (73′), but the day belonged to the Black Panthers who claimed their first victory of the campaign.

The performance was a perfect response by the Black Panthers, who have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after their last 6 matches in all competitions produced only one win.

Despite having a slight advantage over their opponents in terms of familiarity with the ground, Mohammedan SC didn’t start much stronger than George Telegraph did.

Both teams struggled with their first touch, and neither seemed too confident of their abilities in the first 25-odd minutes.

Kouassi, Vanlalbiaa Chhangte and Mohammed Amirul looked as threatening today as they did in the previous match against Rainbow AC, however Echezona and his back-line were more than up to the challenge.

At the other end Joel Sunday and Morgan Justice once again led the George Telegraph offensive efforts but like their opponents, couldn’t find a way to break down that final line.

George Telegraph came out of the sheds fired up to bring themselves back into the contest, controlling the ball, winning set pieces and keeping Mohammedan SC pinned into their own back third.

However, George Telegraph weren’t able to keep up the pace and Kouassi soon struck twice in quick succession to give the Black Panthers a 2-0 lead.

First the Ivorian headed home a Vanlalbiaa cross in the 63rd minute, before converting from the spot five minutes later. The penalty was awarded to the Black Panthers after Bablu Oraon committed handball inside the box.

Nonetheless, George Telegraph, did not lose hope as they kept attacking with intensity and pulled a goal back through Echezona in the 73rd minute.

The match started to become a little tenser as the clock counted down with George Telegraph showing great determination in their pursuit of an equalizer, while Mohammedan SC remained solid at the back.

George Telegraph, to their credit, never gave up but it appeared as if getting on the score sheet just wasn’t to be for the side today with every shot went anywhere but on target as Mohammedan SC held on on for a well-deserved win.

Mohammedan SC who now have 6 points from 4 matches will take on Calcutta Customs next on September 2 at Mohammedan Sporting Ground.