Sports News | Mohammedan Sporting End Debut ISL Campaign Without a Home Win After 2-2 Draw Against Punjab FC
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Mohammedan Sporting held Punjab FC to a 2-2 draw to end their debut Indian Super League (ISL) season without a home win here on Monday.
Kolkata, Mar 10 (PTI) Mohammedan Sporting held Punjab FC to a 2-2 draw to end their debut Indian Super League (ISL) season without a home win here on Monday.
The Kolkata-based team, trailing by two goals at one point, produced a laudable outing in the second half to bag the draw.
Punjab FC were ahead 2-0 through goals from Ezequiel Vidal (9th minute) and Luka Majcen (53rd) but Mohammedan restored parity through Marc Schmerbock (58th) and Robi Hansda (66th).
Mohammedan collected 13 points from 24 games, being unable to secure a home win throughout the season. Punjab FC also ended their campaign with 28 points on the back of eight victories and four draws.
Punjab FC commenced the flow of proceedings by bringing a cohesive pattern of play to the fore. They functioned impressively, breaching past the Mohammedan midfield lines with a rapid string of passes that the home side struggled to break.
The visitors maximised that with Asmir Suljic showing impressive awareness to enter space on the left flank, before setting an instinctive squared up delivery for Ezequiel Vidal that was slotted into the bottom left corner to open the scoring in the ninth minute.
Vidal was critical to the second goal that Punjab FC netted in the 53rd minute. He cracked open the Mohammedan defence with a through pass intended for Luka Majcen at the edge of the 18-yard box.
Zodingliana Ralte attempted to make a timely interception but he ended up losing control of the pass, as Majcen jumped upon the loose ball to deposit it into the bottom right corner and double his team's advantage.
Mohammedan though grabbed command over the game immediately, as Manvir Singh launched in a sharp cross from the left flank with multiple teammates positioned extremely near to the box to latch upon the delivery and head the ball in.
An extremely crowded situation followed, with Vanlalzuidika Chhakchhuak making an important block, before Marc Schmerbock used his left foot to comfortably place the ball in the middle of the net, reducing the deficit to one goal.
With momentum swaying in Mohammedan's favour, the Punjab FC backline lost shape and Franca pounced upon that with a dazzling run, piercing past the opposition's half after picking the ball near the halfway mark.
He spotted three Punjab FC players teaming up to mark him and pulled off a well-timed pass for Robi Hansda in the 66th minute, who smashed the ball into the high centre of the goal, thereby equalising scores.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)