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KOLKATA: Pedro Manzi turned from hero to villain in a span of 90 minutes as Mohammedan Sporting rode two extra-time goals to beat FC Bengaluru United 4-2 in a closely-fought, highly entertaining Durand Cup semifinal at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday.
The century-old club will play in the final of Asia’s oldest club football tournament for the first time since 2013, when they beat ONFC to lift the title.
Manzi stunned a decent gathering of home supporters — allowed to enter the stadium by the tournament organisers — into complete silence before they could even warm their seats when the Spanish forward put Bengaluru United ahead within 30 seconds of the kick-off, one of the quickest goals in Indian football.
But the imperious Marcus Joseph again came to Mohammedan Sporting’s rescue with his fifth goal of the tournament, making it 1-1 in the eighth minute. Spurred on by the supporters, Andrey Chernyshov’s then went ahead in the 38th minute as Marcus turned the provider for Faizal Ali to finish a well-executed move.
Just when the home side thought that it was enough to see through the challenge, veteran defender Kingshuk Debnath rose to the occasion in the 79th minute, heading home second-half substitute Sanju Pradhan’s corner for Bengaluru United’s second goal.
The momentum suddenly looked to have turned back in favour of Richard Hood-managed side. However, a moment of madness turned it into a false dawn as Manzi — already on a booking for arguing with referee Harish Kundu and frustrated by the rival challengers on a few occasions earlier — did the unthinkable in the first-half injury time, trying to score with his hand and drawing his second caution and the eventual expulsion.
When the two teams returned to the field again, Mohammedan Sporting clearly looked a side on ascendancy with the advantage of having an extra man. Substitute Brandon Vanlalremdika — who had a goal ruled out for offside earlier — finally got his name on the scoresheet in the 103rd minute, steering clear of Kingshuk’s challenge with a brilliant turn and beating the goalkeeper with a perfect placing.
Nikola Stojanovic then put the icing on the cake seven minutes later, converting a penalty after rival captain D Ravanan handled the ball inside the box.
This has been a quick turnaround for Mohammedan Sporting, who knocked out defending champions Gokulam Kerala in the quarterfinal to end their lean patch, which included three losses and one draw across two tournaments.
Marcus and Nicola lived up to their billing on Monday, but the home side’s victory was a result of teamwork in which the likes of Sheikh Faiaz, Milan Singh, Chullova and Arijit Singh played their part with determination.
Mohammedan Sporting will take on the winners between FC Goa and Bengaluru FC in the final, to be played on Sunday.
The century-old club will play in the final of Asia’s oldest club football tournament for the first time since 2013, when they beat ONFC to lift the title.
Manzi stunned a decent gathering of home supporters — allowed to enter the stadium by the tournament organisers — into complete silence before they could even warm their seats when the Spanish forward put Bengaluru United ahead within 30 seconds of the kick-off, one of the quickest goals in Indian football.
But the imperious Marcus Joseph again came to Mohammedan Sporting’s rescue with his fifth goal of the tournament, making it 1-1 in the eighth minute. Spurred on by the supporters, Andrey Chernyshov’s then went ahead in the 38th minute as Marcus turned the provider for Faizal Ali to finish a well-executed move.
Just when the home side thought that it was enough to see through the challenge, veteran defender Kingshuk Debnath rose to the occasion in the 79th minute, heading home second-half substitute Sanju Pradhan’s corner for Bengaluru United’s second goal.
The momentum suddenly looked to have turned back in favour of Richard Hood-managed side. However, a moment of madness turned it into a false dawn as Manzi — already on a booking for arguing with referee Harish Kundu and frustrated by the rival challengers on a few occasions earlier — did the unthinkable in the first-half injury time, trying to score with his hand and drawing his second caution and the eventual expulsion.
When the two teams returned to the field again, Mohammedan Sporting clearly looked a side on ascendancy with the advantage of having an extra man. Substitute Brandon Vanlalremdika — who had a goal ruled out for offside earlier — finally got his name on the scoresheet in the 103rd minute, steering clear of Kingshuk’s challenge with a brilliant turn and beating the goalkeeper with a perfect placing.
Nikola Stojanovic then put the icing on the cake seven minutes later, converting a penalty after rival captain D Ravanan handled the ball inside the box.
This has been a quick turnaround for Mohammedan Sporting, who knocked out defending champions Gokulam Kerala in the quarterfinal to end their lean patch, which included three losses and one draw across two tournaments.
Marcus and Nicola lived up to their billing on Monday, but the home side’s victory was a result of teamwork in which the likes of Sheikh Faiaz, Milan Singh, Chullova and Arijit Singh played their part with determination.
Mohammedan Sporting will take on the winners between FC Goa and Bengaluru FC in the final, to be played on Sunday.
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