Amidst bouts of heavy monsoon showers, Salvador Chamorro’s brilliant brace enabled Mohun Bagan to record a 2-0 win over Mohammedan Sporting in the inaugural match of the Durand Cup football tournament at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Friday.
Bagan’s organised approach put Sporting under pressure from the outset of the Group B encounter.
It seized initiative by scoring in the second minute through Spaniard forward Chamorro’s header off Joseba Betia’s free-kick.
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Fine coordination
Mariners’ fine coordination and passing in the season opener spoke a lot about its preparations.
Aided by a neat back-line and an active midfield, led by Betia, Bagan consistently pressed hard as most of the part of the action in the opening period happened in the Sporting half.
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Bagan doubled its lead when Ashutosh Mehta’s precise cross from right was slotted in by Chamorro with another header in the 22nd minute. The Jose Vicuna-coached side had two more attempts. Chamorro’s blind header with his back to the goal off S.K. Sahil’s pass went wide, while Sohrabuddin Mallick’s long ranger flew over the bar.
Sporting got its first real chance at the stroke of half-time. Ugandan Mudde Musa sent in a beautiful pass and Arthur Kouassi lunged to execute a header.
Nevertheless, an alert Bagan keeper, Shilton Paul, dived to his left to make a spectacular save.
Sporting brought in forward Mohammed Amirul in the second half and gave a much-improved performance, switching to attacking mode.
It created a few good chances but could not score due to poor finishing.
For Sporting, the best opportunity came in the 74th minute but Satyam Sharma’s shot was blocked by Paul.
Sporting missed another chance as Kouassi and Tirthankar Sarkar could not score due to some misunderstanding between them in the 82nd minute.
The result: Mohun Bagan 2 (Salvador Chamorro 2 and 22) bt Mohd. Sporting 0 .