KALYANI (India): Super sub Suraj Rawat struck the winner in the injury time as Mohammedan Sporting fight back to beat ten-man Chennai City 2-1 here on Tuesday.
Ranjeet Pandre’s first-half strike was cancelled by Sujit Sadhu in the second-half header after Tarif Akhand was sent off in the 49th minute, but Rawat’s majestic strike gave the local club an important victory.
The Black Panthers, despite dominating possession, failed to make the most of their chances and were pinned by a defensive error that resulted in a goal.
However, in the 12th minute, John Chidi’s header flew inches wide of the goal after a Jamal Bhuyan free-kick.
Five minutes later, the Bangladesh international’s free-kick earned a save by the opposition goalkeeper. Faisal Ali lurking in the box could not make the most of the spill as Chennai City survived.
Some poor defending meant that Mohammedan SC gifted Chennai City the lead in the 19th minute.
Defender Kingsley Eze failed to make a routine clearance after a whipped-in cross from Jishnu Balakrishnan awkwardly bounced for the defender. The cross fell delightfully for Ranjeet Pandre, who slotted home from close range to give Chennai the lead.
Conceding much against the run of play looked to take the wind out of Mohammedan’s sails. However, they recuperated and in the 28th minute, new signing Pedro Manzi set up Faisal Ali inside the box. An onrushing Ali, however, could only shoot wide of the goal.
But perhaps the best chance of the half for Mohammedan came in the 40th minute when John Chidi combined with Pedro Manzi inside the box. Chidi set himself up with a fake shot, but his final effort lacked precision as it rattled the post and went out. The half-time scoreline read 1-0 in Chennai City’s favour.
Chennai City FC were dealt a heavy blow in the early minutes of the second half when defender Tarif Akhand was shown a second yellow card after handling the ball. Reduced to ten men, Chennai City FC committed bodies in defence to safeguard their lead.
