Federation Cup: Mohun Bagan crush Salgaocar to book place in semis
Sony Norde and Katsumi Yusa starred for Mohun Bagan as they thrashed Salgaocar 4-0 in the 2nd leg of their Fed Cup tie at the Barasat Stadium on Thursday. With the three goals, the Kolkata-based club beat the Goan side 7-2 on aggregate, to book their place in the semifinal of the tournament.
Starting Line-ups:
Mohun Bagan (4-3-3): Debjit Majumder(GK), Pritam Kotal, Kinshuk Debnath, Luciano Sobrosa, Dhanachandra Singh, Bikramjit Singh, Katsumi Yusa (C), Lenny Rodrigues, Azharuddin Mallick, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sony Norde
Salgaocar (4-3-3): Karanjit Singh(GK), Reagan Singh, Eder Monteiro, Leny Levis Pereira, Nicolau Colaco, Thangjam Saran Singh, Martin Scott, Gabriel Fernandes, Jackichand Singh, Darryl Duffy(C), Calvin Mbarga
Jeje’s brace and a good second-half performance in the first leg helped Mohun Bagan return back to their home territory with a 3-2 advantage. Coach Sanjoy Sen brought back Haitian striker Sony Norde for the crucial second leg instead of Subash Singh, with Azharuddin Mallick and Bikramjit Singh also making their way into the starting XI.
On the other hand, Salgaocar interim coach Mario Soares made two altercations to the side that produced a valiant effort in the first leg, and brought in Nicolau Colaco and Leny Levis Pereira in place of Keenan Almeida and Augustin Fernandes.
Mohun Bagan started with a front three of Sony Norde, Jeje, and Azharuddin Mallick. The home team enjoyed the majority of the possession in the opening half, and pushed forward whenever they got a chance. Katsumi Yusa enjoyed a free role behind the front three and it was not a surprise to see him getting hold of all the second balls outside the box. A goal looked to be on the horizon with the Salgaocar defence moving deeper and deeper with every Bagan attack, and the breakthrough finally arrived in the 25th minute through the Japanese midfielder Yusa. Lenny Rodriguez found Sony Norde on the left flank, and the Haitian ran towards the goal before passing it to an unmarked Yusa. The Japanese midfielder tapped it into the back of the net with a calm finish from close range.
The home side was cruising with a 4-2 aggregate score, while Salgaocar struggled to notch up one decent attack. The one-way traffic continued and Sony Norde put the match to bed in the 45th minute after latching onto a pass from Katsumi Yusa to beat an onrushing Karanjit Singh to make it 2-0 on the night.
Mohun Bagan's domination continued in the second half as Sony Norde extended their lead to 3-0 with a stunning solo effort. The attacker dribbled past Nicolau Colaco inside the box, before firing in a low shot past Karanjit.
Salgaocar did create chances after conceding the third goal, but Duffy and Jackichand’s efforts hit the post in the 65th minute, which summed up the Goan side's outing at the Barasat Stadium. Indian international Jeje added the cherry on the top of the cake in added time, with a superb solo run and goal to make the scoreline 4-0. Eventually, the referee blew the whistle to prevent further humilation for the visitors.
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