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Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat FC Goa 2-0 in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan and remained unbeaten at home with another fine performance on Saturday night.
It was a gripping encounter with both teams creating several chances. However, the Mariners secured their 17th win of the season courtesy of an own goal from Boris Singh and a late strike from Greg Stewart.
With this victory, they remained unbeaten at home this season throughout the league phase. They also mustered 56 points this season, which is the most in a single ISL campaign.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant were off the blocks quickly as they made inroads into FC Goa`s defensive third early on in the game. Both Greg Stewart and Dimitrios Petratos had an opportunity to put them ahead in the game within the first 10 minutes.
However, FC Goa almost caught the opposition off-guard on a fast break when Rowllin Borges released Borja Herrera in space with a pinpoint long ball. The Spaniard found Iker Guarrotxena in company and played the ball in behind. However, the latter`s attempt was way off target.
Minutes later, Udanta Singh made a surging run down the left channel but Tom Aldred was in position to thwart the danger.
While the hosts started brightly, FC Goa grew into the game as they had more meaningful chances. Guarrotxena kept the Mohun Bagan Super Giant defenders on their toes with his exceptional movement. He came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but Aldred and others did enough to keep the scores level.
In the 31st minute, Borja tried his luck from a distance but Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem in goal punched away the danger. In the 37th minute, a similar sequence happened again, this time from a free-kick but Dheeraj did his best to keep out Borja`s attempt, and the ball was later cleared by the defence.
Early in the second period, Udanta Singh made a sensational move down the left flank but was recklessly stopped by Asish Rai, who also received a yellow card for the infringement. Later, Jose Molina replaced him with Dippendu Biswas in the 57th minute.
MBSG eventually took the lead in the 62nd minute courtesy of errors from Boris Singh and Hrithik Tiwari. The duo had some miscommunication as Boris` headed ball bounced into the net leaving Hrithik wrong-footed.
After the goal, the hosts became even more dominant as Liston Colaco and Stewart came close to scoring in quick succession. Later, Jason Cummings and Dejan Drazic were introduced by their respective coaches after the drinks break.
The final phase of the game saw MBSG playing percentage football as they had already secured the lead. Later the hosts doubled their lead when Cummings played Stewart through on goal and the Scotsman slotted it past Hrithik in goal to close out the match as MBSG went on to lift the ISL League Shield in front of 61,591 supporters.
Both teams will next feature in the ISL semifinals courtesy of finishing in the top two places.
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