Mohun Bagan Crush Diamond Harbour 5–1, Storm Into Durand Cup Quarters
Mohun Bagan Super Giant booked their place in the Durand Cup quarterfinals with a commanding 5–1 win over Diamond Harbour FC in a Group B clash on Saturday, 9 August.
Anirudh Thapa opened the scoring for the Mariners in the 19th minute with a stunning curling shot into the top-right corner. Diamond Harbour hit back just four minutes later when a defensive lapse allowed Luka Majcen to slot past Vishal Kaith and level the scores.
The match remained evenly poised until the 33rd minute, when a wayward pass from the Diamond Harbour goalkeeper was pounced upon by Jamie MacLaren, who finished smartly to restore Bagan’s lead. The home side went into the break 2–1 ahead.
The second half belonged entirely to the Mariners. Early on, Liston Colaco was brought down in the box by Naresh Singh Yendrembam, earning a penalty and a straight red card for the defender. Colaco converted the spot-kick with ease to make it 3–1.
Bagan’s fourth came in the 64th minute as Sahal Abdul Samad capitalised on a loose ball inside the box, showing great composure to slot it past the goalkeeper. In the 80th minute, Jason Cummings added the fifth, finishing clinically from the edge of the box after a neat pass.
With this win, Mohun Bagan advance as Group B winners, while Diamond Harbour must now depend on other results to qualify as one of the best second-placed teams.
