CALCUTTA (India): Mohammedan Sporting opened their 2nd Division League campaign with a 3-0 win over Bhawanipore FC here Saturday.
Debutante Sanjib Ghosh (2nd), John Chidi (26th) and Satyam Sharma (80th) were on target for the Black Panthers at Kalyani Stadium.
Mohammedan started the match with more purpose as they threw everything they had to impose their will on their opponents during the early exchanges.
And their efforts were soon rewarded in the 2nd minute when Sanjib rounded Bhawanipore custodian Arup Debnath to slot home from close range.
Bhawanipore, however, didn’t lose focus and on a couple of occasions seemed like they could be on track to equalize.
Jagannath Sana threatened Mohammedan SC’s goal several times throughout the first-half, creating some half chances inside the penalty area, but the Mohammedan SC defenders were quick to the ball and made the clearance any time it came near goal.
Inevitably, failing to convert their chances came back to haunt Bhawanipore as they fell even further behind when Vanlalbiaa Chhangte latched onto a long ball behind the defence, beat his marker to pull back to an arriving Chidi who neatly slotted past Arup in the 26th minute.
Mohammedan’s spirits were lifted by the goal and they played out the remainder of the first-half with a lot of energy, which they brought with them when they returned from the break.
Going into the second-half the Black Panthers continued to apply pressure and made some decent runs forward.
Black Panthers will host Bengaluru FC Reserves on February 11.
