Kolkata, Aug 31 Mohun Bagan Super Giant edged past fellow ISL club FC Goa 2-1 here on Thursday to set up a Kolkata Derby clash with East Bengal in the final of the 132nd Durand Cup football tournament.
Noah Sadaoui gave FC Goa the lead in the match played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan but a penalty by Jason Cummings and a second-half goal by Armando Sadiku made sure that the Mariners advanced to the final.
They will now face their arch-rivals Emami East Bengal in the summit clash on September 3.
Both Mohun Bagan and FC Goa fought for possession in the middle of the park and it was Goa who settled in quickly, maintaining most of the possession.
Both teams got a chance early in the match but failed to capitalise on it. The game became cagey in the middle of the half as four players were shown the yellow card by the referee, two each from both teams.
Goa took the lead from a mistake by Hugo Boumous, his pass was intercepted by Noah Sadaoui and he ran past two defenders before planting his right-footed shot in the tight corner past Mohun Bagan keeper Vishal Kaith.
Mohun Bagan increased the pressure on FC Goa going forward with their attackers increasing the intensity of the attacks.
Sahal Abdul Samad and Ashique Kuruniyan were combining well with their deft one-touch passes and one such move led to Mohun Bagan’s equalizer.
Ashique was fouled by Jay Gupta inside the box as the wingback was moving forward, earning a penalty for his side. The resultant penalty was converted with precision by Jason Cummings. FC Goa had a chance to double their lead just before the goal as Victor Rodriguez’s effort was blocked by the defender inside the six-yard box.
Goa brought in Boris Singh Thangjam instead of their captain Brandon Fernandes. FC Goa started the second half strongly with Jay Gupta and Carl Mchugh forcing Vishal Kaith into good saves with their long-range efforts.
Mohun Bagan absorbed the pressure in that phase where Goa were dominating. Mohun Bagan again took the best of their opportunities as substitute Armando Sadiku gave the Kolkata side the lead.
Petratos' long ball was misjudged by Sandesh Jhingan, and it fell for Armando Sadiku. The Albanian’s right-footed curler beat Dheeraj Singh and found the right corner of the goal.
After conceding the goal, FC Goa were again on the front foot trying to get the equaliser, but they were lacking behind to apply the finishing touches.
The impressive Jay Gupta again tested Vishal Kaith, as the left-back’s powerful header from a free kick was acrobatically saved by the keeper.
The final minutes of the second half and eight injury time minutes saw some end-to-end action as both teams were throwing everything at each other, especially with FC Goa looking for the equalizer.
The Mariners withstood all the pressure until the final whistle to set up a Kolkata Derby final against their biggest rivals, East Bengal.
--IANS
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