Thursday , March 28 2024

Mohammedan Sporting ride on Chidi hattrick to beat Bengaluru FC B!

Mohammedan Sporting Club eased past Bengaluru FC B 3-1 in their Group B fixture of the 2019/20 Second Division League at Bangalore Football Stadium on Thursday.

John Chidi (41′,75′,88′) scored a hattrick for Mohammedan Sporting while Biswa Kumar Darjee (74′ own goal) scored the only goal for the hosts.

Going into the match Mohammedan Sporting coach Saheed Ramon made three changes to side by handing starts to Shafiul Rahman, who was suspended against Chennaiyin FC B, Satyam Sharma and Sanjib Ghosh at the expenses of Sourav Das, Tirthankar Sarkar and Vikas Saini, while skipper Musa Mudde started as centre-back partnering Prosenjit Paul.

Despite some quick and accurate passes from both sets of players, neither side was able to establish dominance over the midfield during the early stages which made for an end-to-end, open encounter.

Mohammedan Sporting were pressing high without the ball, trying to put pressure on the Bengaluru FC B defence which looked organised and comfortable to dictate the pace of the match and limit the Mohammedan Sporting’s options to counterattacks.

Playing out from the back, Black Panthers were looking to connect with target-man John Chidi but Jagdeep Singh, at the centre of Bengaluru FC defence, had little trouble defusing the searching long balls and crosses aimed at the forward.

By midway through the first period Bengaluru FC were piling on the pressure. Bekay Oram and Emanuel Lalchhanchhuaha led Bengaluru FC’s offensive efforts but like their opponents, failed to be as lethal as they needed to be in front of goal.

Inevitably, failing to convert their chances came back to haunt Bengaluru FC as Black Panthers took the lead in the 41st minute minute when Chidi latched onto a long ball behind the defence, beat his marker and slotted past Bengaluru FC custodian Aditya Patra with ease.

Mohammedan Sporting’s spirits were lifted by the goal and they played out the final moments of the first-half with a lot of energy, which they brought with them when they returned from the break.

Going into the second-half, Black Panthers continued to apply pressure and made some decent runs forward. Bengaluru FC, however, are not a side to give up lightly and despite trailing kept the intensity high, and the pressure on their opponents as they battled to find a way back into the match.

Nonetheless, the lack of finishing in the attacking third and outstanding defending from Mohammedan Sporting meant Bengaluru FC could not find a goal as reward for their early dominance.

However, an unrelenting Bengaluru FC side kept the pressure on their opponents and eventually managed to restore the parity in the 74th minute when Biswa converted from the spot after Hira Mondal tackled Oram inside the box.

Nonetheless, Bengaluru FC’s joy was short-lived as Mohammedan Sporting regained their lead in the very next minute as Chidi reached on the end of a long ball from the deep and calmly put the ball past Aditya.

Eight minutes later Mohammedan Sporting got a penalty of their own when Johnson Singh committed handball inside the box, however, Vikas Saini’s penalty flew over the bar.

Mohammedan Sporting did score their third in the 88th minute when Chidi picked out Jiten Murmu’s pass to produce a fine strike into the top-right corner to complete his hattrick.

Following this win, Mohammedan Sporting remained on the top of the Group B with 12 points from 6 matches and will host Hyderabad FC Reserves next on March 17 at Kalyani Stadium.

About Press Release

Check Also

FC Bengaluru United secure hard-fought 2-1 comeback win over Maharashtra Oranje FC!

FC Bengaluru United staged a remarkable comeback, clinching a thrilling 2-1 victory over Maharashtra Oranje …