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Local Kolkata favourites Mohammedan Sporting Club have reached the 130th Durand Cup semifinals, winning 1-0 to knock out the defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC in front of a limited capacity home crowd at the Saltlake Stadium.
Once a Malabarian but now firmly a Black Panther, it was Marcus Joseph who broke Gokulam Kerala FC hearts by scoring the match-winner for Mohammedan Sporting in the 44th minute.
Under head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese, Gokulam Kerala FC have built a reputation for being a free-scoring team. They were the highest goalscorers in the group stage with 10 goals. However against Mohammedan Sporting today, their midfield and attack appeared to be toothless.
Chances were few and far in-between, and the deadlock was broken in the 44th minute as a result of a Mohammedan Sporting counter-attack. At the other end, Bouba had a goal flagged offside only a minute earlier but as is often the nature of the game, Trinidadian Joseph capped off an excellent move to hand the home side the advantage.
Gokulam Kerala FC did very little to alter the outcome in the second half but with the margin just being one goal, the final few minutes were intense. Mohammedan Sporting did enough though, to hold on and reach the 130th Durand Cup semifinals.
Mohammedan Sporting will now face FC Bengaluru United in their semifinal tie on September 27 at the Saltlake Stadium. The Second Division League side have received a bye to the last four, after their quarterfinal opponents Army Red Football Team pulled out of the tournament owing to Covid cases within the squad.
