KOLKATA: At the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), here, on Friday, Kolkata heavyweights Mohammedan Sporting (MDSP) defeated a young and talented Kerala Blasters (KBFC) 3-0 to advance to the 131st IndianOil Durand Cup semifinals as the first team.
Abiola Dauda, a debutante from Nigeria, scored twice and Sk also scored in the first half. The Black and White brigade had an easy journey to the final four thanks to Faiaz. Despite being without important players like Faslu and Abhishek Halder because to injuries or suspension, MDSP started out strong and it only seemed a matter of time before they scored. Before creating the opening, Marcus Joseph himself missed a number of headers.
Azharuddin Malik deserves praise for keeping possession of the ball in the Blasters' half before passing it back to Safiul, who then passed it forward to Abhash Thapa. Marcus was nearby on his left when he made a risky low cross across the goal face. Yumnam Gopi missed it between two advancing MDSP attackers, but Faiaz was there to easily slot home.
The Blasters, though, did not allow the goal to dampen their spirits and kept trying to enter the game by producing a couple solid chances of their own. They were not nearly able to get the equaliser.
Marcus generated a goal-scoring opportunity that was identical to the first one after Gourav Kankonkar did well to make space outside the box and let one fly over the MDSP bar, but this time Faiaz was slow to respond to the circumstance.
Kerala quickly went on the attack, and Md was found by the midfield general Vibin Mohanan. Inside the left-hand box is Aimen. To gain space on his right, the striker ducked one defender and fired a shot on the turn, but it was too feeble to test Zothanmawia.
MDSP was up at the break, but more work was required. When Andrey Chernyshov substituted Kean Lewis and Abiola Dauda for Gopi and Tajik Nuriddin Dabronov at halftime, he was very clear about his goals. The newly signed Nigerian striker made his MDSP debut.
As the onslaught continued, Dauda received his first significant opportunity in the 58th minute when Marcus found Faiaz inside the box on the right, and he in turn crossed the ball precisely to the Nigerian. With the keeper and an open goal in front of him, Dauda met the ball on the full but failed to make a connection, causing the volley to fly over.
He only had to wait a minute for his first goal, though, as the same Marcus-Faiaz combination played him this time inside the box in between two defenders. The Nigerian fooled the goalkeeper, removing him from the situation so that he could shoot. Marwan, the centre back, attempted to save it, but all he managed was a touch before the ball crept into the net. Delivered was the insurance.
The Blasters maintained a positive attitude and persisted in looking for a gap. In the 74th, Roshan Gigi was well-positioned for a promising opportunity, but Zothanmawia once more proved her mettle.
When Marcus again released Abhishek Ambekar on the left wing in the 84th, it was all over. A flawless cross was provided by the left wing-back as he advanced toward the goal line for Dauda to head in.
In truth, Wayne Vaz missed a sitter from close in the dying moments of the game, but it was already done.
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