Kalinga Super Cup: Mohun Bagan SG sail past Kerala Blasters to seal SF spot
Sreekuttan MS (90+4') pulled one back for the Blasters, but it was too little, too late as Mohun Bagan SG, helped by a solid performance from goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, entered the semifinals. Bastab Roy's side will face the winners of the clash between FC Goa and Punjab FC in the semifinal on April 30.
The game began at a leisurely pace, with both teams not committing many bodies in the opposition half. After 20 minutes of no goalmouth action, Mohun Bagan SG churned out the opener with their first meaningful attack of the match.
With some lightning-quick footwork, Salahudheen Adnan twisted and turned past left-back Naocha Singh and slipped a cross into the six-yard box. Getting on the end of it was Sahal Abdul Samad, who, with a drop of a shoulder, swiftly evaded Ruivah Hormipam's challenge and dinked the ball over goalkeeper Sachin Suresh to make it 1-0 in the 22nd minute.
From then on, it was all Kerala Blasters, who were left rattled by the Mariners and grew desperate for the equaliser. Noah Sadaoui, scorer of a stunning long ranger against East Bengal, tried the same trick once again, cutting in from the right and shooting from distance. But he didn't get enough elevation, and the ball landed straight into the gloves of Dheeraj Singh.
The Blasters became increasingly dangerous from short corners. In the 30th minute, after playing a one-two with Vibin Mohanan, Sadaoui drilled a low cross that was hacked clear by Dippendu Biswas. Later, from another short corner, Hormipam's cross-turned-shot almost landed in the top corner, with Dheeraj doing well to tip it over.
In the first half of added time, Mohammed Aimen was fed on the left wing by Vibin. The midfielder cut in from the left before seeing his right-footer swerve over the bar.
Before Kerala Blasters could even get into gear for the second half, Mohun Bagan SG scored another goal. When Sachin produced a wonderful one-on-one save to deny Salahudheen in the 47th minute, it wasn't enough of a wake-up call for David Català's side.
Just four minutes later, Ashique Kuruniyan created the second goal from the left flank. The Indian international skipped past Hormipam and squared an inch-perfect ball into the six-yard box for Suhail Ahmad Bhat to guide it into the net with ease.
The rest of the second half was all about Dheeraj Singh keeping the Kerala Blasters forward at bay, but it wasn't until after Jesús Jiménez missed a couple of gilt-edged chances – half-volleying over the bar in the 65th minute and then curling it wide of the far post after going clean through on goal in the 67th.
Three minutes later, Dheeraj palmed over substitute Kwame Peprah's right-footed shot from a narrow angle. With just five minutes to go, Peprah tried to set up Jiménez with a low cross into the six-yard box, but the Spaniard couldn't sort his feet out quickly enough and missed it completely.
Dheeraj again made himself big to deny Peprah from six yards before Ebindas Y's attempt on the rebound was cleared off the line by Amandeep.
The Mohun Bagan custodian was finally beaten in the 94th minute when Jiménez slipped a neat ball for Sreekuttan on the right. The substitute thrashed it over Dheeraj and into the back of the net, but it only turned out to be a consolation strike.
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