Durand Cup: Mohun Bagan Super Giant cruise to 4-0 win against BSF FT

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 4 : Three goals in the second half and a solitary strike in the first ensured Mohun Bagan Super Giant secure a comfortable 4-0 victory over Border Security Force Football Team (BSF FT) for their second consecutive victory in the Group B fixture of the 134th Durand Cup, which was played here at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.

Liston Colaco scored a brace while Sahal Abdul Samad also found the target after Manvir Singh had given The Mariners the lead in the first half. With this win, Mohun Bagan, with six points from two matches, are second in the group behind Diamond Harbour FC on goal difference. The final group game between both sides will decide the group winners.

Both head coaches made four changes to their starting line-ups with Jose Molina bringing in Tom Aldred, Leewan Castanha, Thangjam Roshan Singh and Manvir Singh in place of Asish Rai, Tekcham Abhishek Singh, Kiyan Nassiri and the suspended Apuia, while Gurjit Singh Atwal named Sanjog Jha, Ishan Gupta, Navjot Singh and Navjot Panesar in place of Agou Lenthang, Anandhu K. Sanan, Bipul Khan and Harpreet Singh in the starting eleven.

Mohun Bagan took 24 minutes to break the BSF defence when Manvir Singh headed in a pinpoint cross to give his team the lead. Manvir leapt ahead of his marker and directed the 18-year-old Roshan's cross past the goalkeeper Harpreet Singh, who was in no man's land after coming out to claim the ball.

The Mariners, who had seven attempts on goal in the first half, failed to convert them, with Anirudh Thapa and Manvir putting their efforts wide, which were both created by Liston Colaco, who was at the heart of Mohun Bagan's attacks. The winger later scuffed his shot wide in the final action of the first half after he was set free by an improvised chip pass by Anirudh Thapa as the home side went into the break with a solitary goal lead.

BSF could have punished Mohun Bagan for their defensive lapses, including twice inside five minutes and one in added time of the first half but Kishori could not capitalise on those positions on all three times as he failed to find the target as his first attempt lacked power and went straight into the hands of Kishori while the other two efforts failed to find the target.

Jose Molina brought in Sahal Abdul Samad, Kiyan Nassiri and centre back Alberto Rodriguez at halftime to inject more energy into his side. They took the lead just seven minutes after the restart through Liston Colaco. Sahal pushed the ball into the path of Liston, who showed good feet inside the box to control the ball and found the bottom corner with a hard low shot to double the lead. Liston completed his brace minutes later as the winger beat his marker inside the box with a couple of step-overs and slotted the ball into the net between the goalkeeper's legs.

Sahal, who was sharp after coming on, joined the party three minutes later to give Mohun Bagan their fourth goal of the match. The midfielder made his way inside the box and, with a neat skill, beat the rushing goalkeeper, and his scooped shot had crossed the line before the BSF defender could clear it off the line. The midfielder then struck the crossbar with a powerful effort in the next attack, while Dippendu Biswas also saw his glancing header from a corner kick being saved by the goalkeeper.

Mohun Bagan could not add any other goals to their tally after that eight-minute onslaught as BSF defended with more resilience in the final minutes of the match. Harpreet Singh was called into action only in the final minute of injury time as his acrobatic save denied substitute Alberto Rodriguez's long-range effort.

The final Group B game of Mohun Bagan on August 9th against Diamond Harbour now promises to be an intriguing fixture as the current runners-up will need a win to guarantee their spot in the quarterfinals.

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