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Mohammedan SC could not register a single win at home after playing out 2-2 draw in their last match of 2024-25 Indian Super League.
Mohammedan SC end their ISL 2024-25 campaign without a win at home.
Punjab FC and Mohammedan SC played out a 2-2 draw in the 2024-25 Indian Super League at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Monday.
In the battle of the two promoted sides in the league’s history, the Black Panthers had the first swipe at the Shers. Carlos Franca earned a free-kick as Zodingliana Ralte opted to go for goal. Luka Majcen came in with the crucial block as the keeper Muheet Shabir got his angles right.
Punjab were the first to draw first blood with a brilliant team goal in the 9th minute.
Asmir Suljic started off the attack on the left wing as he found Majcen holding off the defenders, who in turn, played a brilliant one-two with Teckham Abhishek Singh. Majcen then slipped Suljic past the last man with a perfectly weighted pass, who found Ezequiel Vidal, who had the pass hit him and go into the back of the net.
The handful of fans in the stands were left in shock with the suddenness of the move.
Within five minutes, Punjab almost doubled their lead. Majcen found Vidal on the right, an into the penalty box, but the goalscorer could not double his tally.
At the stroke of 20 minutes, Joe Zoherliana tried his luck from the edge of the box after Mirjalol Kasimov’s free-kick was not cleared completely with the Mohammedan defender’s shot needing a prompt dive from Shabir.
Majcen almost registered his name in the scoreboard as he chased down the last man and robbed him with an efficient press. With only Padam Chhetri to beat in the Mohammedan goal, Majcen had his shot saved in the 31st minute.
Punjab’s 17-year-old defender, Pramveer Singh had been going well at his end of the field and came close to scoring with a powerful header after a cross from Suljic.
In added time at the end of the first half, Majcen finally earned a free-kick for all his tussles with the Mohammedan defense. Vidal stepped up to take the set piece, and his effort needed another fine save from Padam to keep the deficit to one.
At the start of the second half, Mohammedan SC’s interim head coach, Mehrajuddin Wadoo made two changes as Marc Schmerbock and Bikash Singh replaced Makan Chothe and Amarjit Singh.
It was a bright start from the Kolkata side, but it was the visiting Punjab FC that scored to double their lead in the 53rd minute. Under pressure, Zodingliana gave away the ball inside the penalty box as Majcen capitalised to slot it into the back of the net.
Mohammedan had enough and wanted to get back into the game, piling bodies forward. In the 58th minute, Schmerbock tuned the ball in from mere inches of the goal line after Manvir’s cross caused a melee at the goal line.
Come the 66th minute, Hansda leveled it for Mohammedan. Franca made a darting run from the left as he ghosted past defenders into the middle, only to be felled by a trailing leg. The protests went up immediately, but it did not matter as the ball had somehow found its way to the Bengali forward, who looked up and curled his inch-perfect shot into the top right corner.
The game suddenly came to life with both sides throwing jabs, with Ricky Shabong and Franca getting chances to edge ahead. Schmerbock’s poor touch meant a goal-scoring chance went begging, and so did for Hansda, too, who was jostled off the ball side the penalty box as Mohammedan SC failed to win a game at home in the entire season.
