KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club thrash Tollygunge Agragami 5-1 to register their first win in the ongoing 2017/18 CFL Premier Division – A on Thursday.
Sheikh Faiaz’s 7th minute strike gave the Black Panthers a solitary goal lead at half-time, before Jiten Murmu (48th and 83rd), Dipendu Dowary (56th) and Debasish Pradhan (90+2nd) got their names on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Bijoy Mandi (87th) scored a consolation goal for Tollygunge.
Going into the game Mohammedan SC coach Biswajit Bhattacharya made four changes to the side that lost to Pathachakra Club by brining in Muhammad Rashid Nalakath, Kalu Ogba, Ankit Mukherjee and Kamran Farooque replacing Sankar Roy, Prohlad Roy, Amit Chakraborty and Pranit Lama Tamang.
In front of a sparse crowd at Barasat Stadium, the Black Panthers jumped into a great start and orchestrated many moves but missed goal-scoring opportunities whenever they approached Tollygune’s final third.
However, the pressure paid off as Mohammedan SC broke the deadlock in the 7th minute. Tithankar Sarkar held off a defender on the left flank and floated in a cross to the far post finding Faiaz who converted with a fine header to put Mohammedan SC 1-0 up.
Having taken the lead, Mohammedan SC got a much needed confidence boost and they increased their pressure up front dominating the game entirely.
Tollygunge, on the other hand, found it’s feet after 30 minutes that saw Anthony Wolfe send his header just wide off a Bijoy Mandi corner.
Mohammedan SC then escaped two minutes before interval as Goutam Kujur missed a chance that was easier to score after a one-on-one with keeper Rashid Nalakath which saw the first half ended 1-0.
Changing over, the Black Panthers held dominance with a goal beckoning with every move and just three minutes into the session, Jiten consolidated Mohammedan SC’s lead capitalizing on a error by Tollygune custodian Jhantu Mondal.
Mohammedan SC stepped up the tempo after the goal and eight minutes later, skipper Rana Gharami away from two defenders on the left flank, picked out Dowary to slot home from close range.
With Mohammedan SC cruising, the confidence of the players understandably soared and Jiten made it four in the 83rd minute.
Meanwhile, Tollygunge on a few occasions created anxious moments for the Mohammedan SC defense marshaled around Nigerian Richard Agwu and even pulled a goal in the 87th minute through Mandi.
Just when the game appeared to be ending with the score line unchanged, substitute Debasish Pradhan popped out from the middle to slot home Jiten’s pass in injury time to wrap up a good day for the Black Panthers.