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Mohammedan Sporting Club lifted themselves to fourth in the Calcutta Football League – Premier Division ‘A’ table with a 2-1 win over West Bengal Police on Thursday.
The performance was a perfect response by Raghu Nandi’s men, who have come under scrutiny after losing against Peerless in their last match.
Princewill Emeka’s (6′, 37′) brace gave Black Panthers a two-goal lead at half-time before substitute Shaikh Shamim (69′) pulled a goal back for West Bengal Police at the Mohammedan Sporting ground.
Going into match, Nandi made the only change to the squad handing first start to winger Sumit Das at the expense of Rahul KP.
Looking to stamp their authority on proceedings, Mohammedan Sporting had the West Bengal Police defense under all kinds of pressure early on and it didn’t take long for them to break the deadlock as they scored almost instantly in the 6th minute when Princewill controlled Bazie Armand’s cut back from the left flank to slot home from close.
Having scored, Mohammedan Sporting, backed by their fans pushed more men forward and attacked the rival goal ferociously going close on a few occasions.
West Bengal Police, on the other hand, continued to look shell-shocked and were nearly 2-0 down only after 17 minutes when Dipendu Dowary’s effort from a corner narrowly missed the target.
The goal had to come, however, and Princewill duly converted a penalty in the 37th minute after he was brought down inside the box.
Thereafter, Mohammedan Sporting continued to dominate proceedings and had a host of chances, but poor finishing in the final third meant the first-half ended 2-0.
Mohammedan Sporting started the second-half as they did the first and continued to pile on more pressure on West Bengal Police but their attackers‚ especially‚ Princeweill‚ Sumit and Dowary were guilty of failing to convert chances from good scoring positions.
However, as the game progressed West Bengal Police began to control the proceedings with greater possession and looked more threatening going forward, thanks to crisp passing, good off-the-ball movement and dazzling individual skills.
Having missed some half chances, West Bengal Police finally pulled a goal back in the 76th minute through Shamim, in for Surajit Bose in the 62nd minute. The striker headed past Arup Debnath from close off a Seiboi Haokip free-kick.
Thereafter, West Bengal Police tried to push up looking for a squalider in the final quarter, but Mohammedan Sporting held on for a well-deserved 2-1 win.
Mohammedan Sporting, who now have 13 points from seven outings, would take on city-rivals East Bengal on Sunday.
