I-League 2019-20: Mohun Bagan downs Real Kashmir 2-0 to top table

A 2-0 lead over hosts Real Kashmir FC handed Mohun Bagan a crucial win as they set the ball rolling in the domestic campaign, in search of a shot at going top of the table.

Following a goalless first period, the green-and-maroons brigade secured a comfortable lead through Joseba Beitia’s strike in the 72nd minute to retain the winning ways in the Hero I-League 2019 at Srinagar’s TRC Turf Ground on Sunday. The visitors intensified the attack and Nongdamba Naorem scored off a long shot in the 73rd minute to double the lead.

Though the hosts had the willpower to fight and level the score, they did not have the steam to overcome a rampaging Mohun Bagan in the game. The David Robertson-coached Kashmir side had its chances, but Mohun Bagan turned on the heat on its rival never to look back. It seems just too right to say that Kibu Vicuna's men hardly put a foot wrong in the entire 90 minutes of the game.

The resurgent Bengal side asserted their dominance right from the start, creating several chances in the opening ten minutes. The 32-year-old defender Dhanachandra Singh was called into action in the place of suspended Gurjinder Kumar. All eyes were fixed on Diawara as Fran Gonzalez lobbed a ball from the edge of the penalty box over the opponent's defence for the Senegalese, but Diawara was late to react and could not sort his feet out in time.

Needing a miracle to retain supremacy, Gonzalez was halfway through unleashing a rasping drive from the inch of the box in the 38th minute after connecting well to a corner floated by teammate Joseba Beitia.

Guilty of squandering several opportunities, Real Kashmir, who is normally known for putting up its best, looked a bit off-colour during the entire game. Kallum Higginbotham and Mason Robertson lacked coordination in the attacking third, thanks to the defensive organisation of the Bengal side. The hosts returned to the field showing more urgency in the attacking position after the break.

In the 49th minute, the side’s star player Danis Farooq laid off Bazie Armand inside the box but the latter rifled his shot over the crossbar after wrong-footing Morante with a quick turn. In the 65th minute, Robertson's header from a Higginbotham free-kick looked destined to break the deadlock but was tipped over the crossbar by Shankar Roy. As relegation-threatened Kashmir looked more nervous at the back, Bagan took advantage of the situation, scooping up their second consecutive goal.