Kolkata club Mohammedan Sporting got the better of TRAU FC by a solitary 40-minute strike at Kishore Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday for their second straight win of the ongoing I-League. For the Imphal-based side it was their consecutive loss of the league.
In the other match of the day, Sreenidi Deccan stunned defending champions Gokulam Kerala by identical margin of 1-0 as they continued their impressive run in this edition with third win of the season in Hyderabad on Sunday. After a series of missed chances at both ends, a 63rd-minute long ranger from Faysal Shayesteh proved to be the winner as Gokulam stumbled to their first loss of the season.
Midfielder Faslu Rahman's first-half strike was enough to make all the difference for the black and white brigade, who are slowly finding their feet after losing their opening two matches. TRAU suffered their first defeat of the season to Sreenidi Deccan in their last tie.
The game also marked the first appearance of the season for Mohammedan's star midfielder Nikola Stojanovic, who played a key part in their second-place finish previous season.
After withstanding the visitors' early pressure, Mohammedan tried to slow things down and build patiently from the back. It took half an hour for the hosts' first real foray into the TRAU penalty area. The breakthrough for Mohammedan came in the 40th minute with their first shot on target.
Abhishek Ambekar's looping cross invited TRAU custodian Loitongbam Bishorjit Singh out of his position but he failed to collect the ball which then fell right in the path of Rahman outside the box. The mideo struck home to bag his second goal in as many games.
The result saw Andrey Chernyshov's Mohammedan Sporting rise to sixth spot on the standings with six points while TRAU slipped to seventh position with four points.
At Deccan Arena, after a barren first half the Deccan Warriors finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute with Phalguni Singh initiating a move for Shayesteh, who took a low shot at the goal beating the Gokulam goalkeeper Shibinraj Kunniyil from distance.
Sreenidi Deccan have now won three out of their four games to collect nine points. Gokulam conceded their first goal of the season as they have seven points with two wins and a draw from four matches.
Aizawl face Punjab challenge: Punjab FC will look to continue their unbeaten run when they face former champions Aizawl FC in a fourth-round clash at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula on Monday.
After two wins in their first two games, the hosts will head into the match on the back of a draw against Rajasthan United, where they conceded an injury-time equaliser to share honours. For Aizawl FC, a win against Sudeva Delhi in their last match should boost their confidence after a slow start to the season that saw them pick up only one point out of a possible six.
Meanwhile, Aizawl FC head coach Standly Rozario couldn't make the trip to Panchkula due to health problems, so assistant coach Victor Lalbiakmawia is set to manage the People's Club from dugout on Monday.
"First of all I would like to wish our head coach Standly Rozario a speedy recovery. The boys want to win all three points for our coach. Different coaches have different tactics. We obviously want to win the game tomorrow. How we do it depends on the way the boys play tomorrow," said Lalbiakmawia.
In the day's other match, Real Kashmir host Churchill Brothers at TRC Polo Synthetic Turf Ground in Srinagar.
