Durand Cup | Mohun Bagan advance to semis through Francisco Gonzalez’s spot kick
Mohun Bagan reached the semis of the 129th edition of the Durand Cup as they defeated Indian Navy team, thanks to Spanish playmaker Francisco Gonzalez, who converted from the spot to score the lone goal. The Indian Navy side did extremely well to hold Mohun Bagan goalless in the first half.
After archrivals sealed their spot in the semi-final having won all three of their group games, Mohun Bagan had gotten a scare before they also matched the perfect win record by beating Indian Navy 1-0 in their last group games.
The Indian Navy side proved to be a tough nut to crack as Bagan kept knocking at their defence without creating a lot of chances. Both Nongdamba Naorem and Subho Ghosh were busy for the Kolkata giants trying to make things out of thin air but their inexperience proved to be vulnerable against a staunch defence, which was efficiently guarded by keeper Bhaskar Roy.
However, holding on to the fort for the whole 90 minutes wasn’t an easy task and Navy’s Dalraj Singh eventually faltered as he fouled Sheikh Faiaz inside the box to concede a penalty at the 58th minute. Francisco Gonzalez made no mistake from the spot as his topped the Group B with a 100 percent win record.Â
From Group C, Real Kashmir have bested FC Goa to top with better goal difference, while Gokhulam Kerala have topped the Group D. The Kolkata giants would be the favourites to face each other in the final.
