Mohammedan handed reality check
Mapusa/Kolkata/Pune: Salgaocar opened their campaign in style in the seventh edition of the I-League as they got the better of defending champions Churchill Brothers 1-0 at Duler Stadium here on Sunday.
The all-important goal came in the 41st minute through Daryll Duffy.
Meanwhile, in Kolkata, flying high after their recent Durand Cup triumph, Mohammedan Sporting were brought down to earth when a new-look Pune FC rallied to beat them 3-1 in their I-League opener.
Salgaocar, who looked better in the midfield, attacked on the flanks with Francis Fernandes and Gilbert Oliveira sending dangerous crosses that unsettled the rival defence.
Salgaocar central defender Chika Wali and Augustin kept a close watch on rival’s playmaker Hugo Marchado, who did precious little in the middle, which saw few raids from them and he was later replaced by Richard Costa.
Salgaocar’s foreign recruit Duffy broke the deadlock in the 41st minute after Churchill Brothers keeper Arindam Bhattacharya, after many saves, spilled the ball off a Clifton Dias cross, allowing Duffy to score.
Soon after, Duffy had another glorious chance to double the lead, but he headed wide off the target off a Francis Fernandes cross from the right.
Churchill Brothers looked better in the second half after introduction of Micky Fernandes in place of Alesh Sawant, and rival keeper Karanjit Singh had to stretch himself on the right to put out a Lenny Rodrigues shot off Jaison Valles’ pass in the 62nd minute.
In the end, Salgaocar’s defence, led by Augustin Fernandes, did well to defend their citadel.
Pune started brilliantly as Spain-born Raul Fabiani (16th and 76th minute) stole the show with a brace and set up another for James Meyer (52nd) to help go past Mohammedan, who were leading after an 11th minute Joshimar d’Silva Martins’ strike.
Just after completing his double, Fabiani, who received a yellow card for a hand ball in the 28th minute, celebrated by taking off his jersey and was sent off for a second booking.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Pune FC, under new coach Mike Snoei, thwarted Mohammedan Sporting’s attempts for a comeback for a fine start to their campaign.
Having been promoted to the top tier after four years, Mohammedan Sporting, egged on by 15,000-odd crowd, started aggressively and made inroads to the Pune FC half.
In the third minute, Ajay Singh missed a chance in front of the open net. They kept attacking, which resulted in the first goal of the I-League seventh season when Joshimar struck after being set up nicely by Gagandeep Singh.
Joshimar first smartly headed the ball out of the path of a surging Pune FC goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, and then calmly slotted the ball into the empty net.
In the other match of the day, Mumbai FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Sporting Clube de Goa in their opening match at the Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
A first-half injury time strike by winger John Coutinho (45+1st minute) gave Mumbai FC the lead before a second half penalty from substitute Kalu Ogba (77th) saw both teams share the spoils.
The hosts sustained a lot of attacks from Sporting in the opening exchanges before taking the time to settle.
Sporting, in the meantime, created the first chance at the half-hour mark through striker Boima Karpeh. His shot on the volley from inside the box was saved brilliantly by Mumbai FC custodian Kunal Sawant, who did well to stretch and push the ball onto the upright and deny a goal.
Sawant did well earlier, too, pulling off back-to-back saves to keep Sporting at bay.
However, it was the hosts who took the lead on the stroke of half-time.
Kamaljeet Kumar’s cross in from the left saw Coutinho, ahead of Sporting defender Rovan Pereira, control and smash home an angular grounder from the edge of the box to send the home fans into frenzy. (PTI)