A spectacular quarter-final contest! Mohun Bagan Super Giant are in to the 133rd Durand Cup semi-final. After a dramatic football match Mohun Bagan SG got their win over Punjab FC. Six goals were scored in the 90 minutes, and the penalty shootout resulted in a victory for Mohun Bagan SG.
In the third quarter-final match, Punjab FC took an early lead. Both teams played aggressively, but in the 16th minute, Alberto Rodriguez committed a rough challenge on Vinith Rai inside the box, resulting in a penalty for Punjab FC. Luka Majcen took the penalty and gave The Shers the lead.
After taking the lead, Punjab appeared more attacking. Mohun Bagan Super Giant attempted some counterattacks. In the 22nd minute, Mohun Bagan built up an attack from the left wing. Liston Colaco made a run with the ball and entered the box. After a great step-over, he took a shot, but it went wide.
Before the halftime break, Mohun Bagan found their equalizer when Greg Stewart scored. From the left wing, Liston Colaco passed the ball to Greg Stewart at the edge of the box. He took a low shot, which was deflected by Suhail Bhat and went into the net.
At the start of the second half, Mohun Bagan SG took the lead. In the 48th minute, Manvir Singh scored the goal. Sahal passed the ball to the right side of the box for Manvir, who calmly and composedly placed the ball into the net from the far post. What a finish by Manvir Singh, who had just entered the field.
In the 63rd minute Filip equalize the score again for Punjab FC. Within eight minutes Punjab’s Argentine Ezequiel Vidal brings up the lead back for the Shers with his stunning strike.
But in the 80th minute of the match from an attack, a center came into the box from the left wing, Manvir Singh headed down the ball for Jason Cummins and he scored the third goal for Mohun Bagan.
With that goal, the scoreboard changed to 3-3. Cummins’ late goal brought Mohun Bagan SG back into the game. So much happened throughout the 90 minutes. After that, the match went to a tiebreaker. Following the penalty shootout, Mohun Bagan secured their victory with a close 6-5 score.
Both teams took 14 spot kicks. Jason Cummings missed the first penalty kick for Mohun Bagan SG, and Vidal put Punjab FC ahead. But Vishal Kaith made two crucial saves for the Mariners—the first on Novoselec’s fifth spot kick and the second on Denechandra’s seventh and final shot, which turned the game around. With that win, the defending champions’ title defense continues.
Player of the Match
Match Highlights
Key stats Mohun Bagan SG vs Punjab FC:
BALL POSSESSION: MBSG 63%, PFC 37%
SHOTS: MBSG 10, PFC 9
SHOTS ON TARGET: MBSG 6, PFC 5
FOULS: MBSG 7, PFC 13
YELLOW CARDS: MBSG 1, PFC 2
CORNERS: MBSG 4, PFC 1
OFFSIDES: MBSG 0, PFC 1
