By Ujjal Sarkhel

Barasat: Mohammedan Sporting Club defeated Southern Samity 2-1 in their Calcutta Football League Premier A  clash on Wednesday at the Barasat Vidyasagar Kriangan.

Mohammedan Sporting took the lead in 69^th minute through Usman Ashique, only for Basanta Singh to restore parity for Southern Samity in 72th minute from a spot kick. But once again Black Panthers srtuck through their substitute Dipendu Biswas  on 95^th minute to console the full three for his side in this important CFL fixture.

After the 2008-2009 season Mohammedan Sporting registered 4 back to back CFL match win.

Going in to this match Mohammedan Coach Mridul Bannerjee made one change in the starting line up. Midfielder Usman Ashique come in starting line up as a replacement of Atinder Mani. On the other hand Southern Samity remained the same starting line up which played in their previous match against East Bengal.

Black Panthers are dominated the game from opening minutes, kepping their possession in midfield ,they placed a lots of attack in Southern Samity box. But the final ball was lacking every time for the panthers. On 34^th minute Southern Samity got a chance where Basanta Singh’s brilliant right footed shot was well saved by the custodian Sayan Roy. Meanwhile after few minutes Mohammedan Sporting’s Dodoz tried same and Southern Custodian Sourav did the same of Sayan Roy. Both team tried hard to break the deadlock but both team looses the ball control in the penetrative zone. Mohammedan striker Dodoz was man marked by the Southern Stopper Echezona and on the other hand Mohammedan stopper Lancine Toure  did well job in defense by marking the Liberian striker of Southern Tarrus. The first half ended with goal less.

Mohammedan Sporting kept on pressing in the second half in search of the all important goal. But every time the final ball was lacking. The same thing was happned for Southern side also. In second half Southern midfielder Antoni Soren was looking more dangerous with his brilliant speedy move.

Finally the deadlock was Brocken on 69^th minute through the Mohammedan player Ushman Ashique. Manvir Singh delivered a through pass into the Southern box where Ushman puts the ball into the net and scored his first goal in his debut. But Southern Samity found the equalizer just after three minute from a penalty. Ushman fouled a Southern player in their penalty box. Referee Ranjit did no mistake to give that penalty. Basanta Singh scored from this spot kick and leveled the game.

Thereafter both team tired hard to found the insurance goal. Mohammedan coach Mridul Bannerjee made three changes. Ushman Ashique,  Manvir Singh and Dipendu Dowary was replaced by Parvinder Singh, Atinder Mani and Dipendu Biswas.

When everyone is thinking that the match will end as a draw , substituted veteran  Dipendu Biswas come as savior for the black panthers by scoring his 249^th goal of his carrier on 95^th minuted of the game.As a result of that the game ended with the win of Mohammedan’s side.

After this thrilling win Mohammedan Sporting are in the  second position of league table. Black Panthers will face Peerless SC in their next game at the same venue.

Photo By: Debabrata Majumder

KOLKATA:Mohammedan Sporting Club will look to grab their fourth successive win in the ongoing CFL Premier Division – A  when take on Southern Samity tomorrow at Barasat Stadium.

The match against Southern Samity is very crucial for the Black Panthers as they are 6 points below the leaders East Bengal and one behind second placed Mohun Bagan, on third with 12 points. Thus a win on the morrow would take them to second making the three headed race at the top tighter.

Mohammedan SC, who played their last game on August 20 against Aryan Club, are coming into game on the back of three back-to-back wins. However the task at hand won’t be easy for the Black Panthers as gaffer Mridul Bannerjee has admitted that Southern Samity could prove to be the toughest opponent that his team have faced so far in the competition.

“We did win three games back-to-back but whatever we have done in the past will count for very little when we play our next game. Each game is a new challenge and needs different approach,” coach Bannerjee said ahead of the clash.

Facing Southern Samity, Mohammedan SC will be boosted by the arrival of  attacking medio Alexandre Tabillon, along with the Frenchman experienced striker Dipendu Biswas will also be available for selection.

On the other hand, Southern Samity’s campaign has been a roller coaster ride so far. The Subarata Bhattacharya Jr. coached side started with a goalless draw against Bhawanipore Club, then they went on to beat United SC 2-0 before going down 0-1 to Mohun Bagan. However, they bounced back to the winning ways against Army XI but again suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat from East Bengal in their last game.< Going into the game, Southrn Samity will rely on their Liberian striker Taurus Manneh and Ashim Biswas for goals up front while the likes of Antoni Soren, Deepak Mondal, Basanta Singh, Goutam Kujur and Safar Sardar will add depth to the side. “Southern Samity is one of the toughest teams in the league. They have a well-balanced side and it always gets difficult when we are stacked up against a set of proven players. But I have full faith in our young team and they have stood up whenever needed. We will try our best for a positive result tomorrow,” coach Bannerjee added. Interestingly the current Southern Samity coach was in charge of Mohammedan SC during the 2015/16 I-League 2^nd Division few months back and Southern Samity have as many five players in their side who plied their trade in Mohammedan SC previous season.

For the record, Mohammedan SC have not won against Southern Samity in their previous two meetings of the CFL Premier Division, hence The Black Panthers hoping for it’s third time lucky.

The game at Barasat Stadium kicks off at 5.30 pm on Wednesday and it will be televised on ETV News Bangla.