Mohun Bagan Super Giant obtained a memorable double from the Super League on Saturday, raising the ISL Cup after beating Bengaluru FC 2-1 in a tense final in Kolkata to add to the shield of the league winners he had won earlier in the season. After a goalless first half, Alberto Rodriguez de Mohun Bagan scored a goal in the 49th minute to give Bengaluru FC. Mohun Bagan striker Jason Cummings then struck the penalty point to restore parity in the 72nd minute. The match came in additional time and Jamie Maclaren scored the decisive goal after six minutes (96th) to the wild celebrations of supporters of Mohun Bagan, in Salt Lake Stadium.
Mohun Bagan has therefore only become the second team in the history of the ISL to win the shield of the winners of the League as well as the ISL Cup of the same season, after Mumbai City did the same in 2020-2010.
The best team of the table of points after the Home and outside League among the 13 participating clubs won the shield of the Ligue winners. Mohun Bagan had finished in the lead with 56 points after 24 exhausting games to raise the shield and also qualify for AFC Champions League 2, the second level competition in Asia.
After the league phase, a direct elimination round is played involving the best six teams on the points table. Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC won their respective semi-finals to install the summit shock on Saturday to decide the Isl Cup winners.
MBSG obtained the support of the crowd to make a decisive start, with Jamie Maclaren approaching a shooting of the straight feet on the same side of the box, which was saved in the lower left corner by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the ninth minute.
They continued to operate dynamically in tandem, while Airudh Thapa, generally pulling the ropes in the center, made a breakthrough in the 18 yards and sent a right foot which was blocked in time.
The blues responded with a burst of opportunities around the 20th minute, Alberto Noguera extending the defense of the MBSG largely and offering a cross for Sunil Chhetri who, however, could not capitalize. An effort as a later basis by Edgar Mendez was saved in the center of the goal by Vishal Kaith to maintain the scores.
The Bengaluru FC obtained the breakthrough in the 49th minute, gracked with its own goal from defender Alberto Rodriguez. Williams had enough space on the right flank and he optimized it with a cross -whipped crossing for Mendez inside the box.
Subhasish Bose, who scored Williams, could not close his goal. Rodriguez tried to empty the ball but ended up hammering it at the back of his own pressure net.
Seven minutes later, Bose recovered the possession near the half and sent a delivery which met Jason Cummings just outside the penalty zone. The attacker did well to control the ball and sparked an effort from the left feet which required a fully stretched dive of Sandhu to prevent the ball from finding the net.
However, MBSG obtained a reprieve in the form of a penalty due to a Handball of Chinglensana Singh. In the 72nd minute, Cummings intensified for kicking tasks and converted effortlessly by caressing the ball in the lower left corner with its left foot to bring the competition in terms of level.
While the game entered the end of the regulatory time, Kaith sent in a long ball that Asthique Kuruniyan tried to knock at home, although from a difficult angle on the left, but in vain.
Greg Stewart’s lateral ball for Tom Alloud was heading on the left side of the six -meter box by the defender, but he missed the target on the right.
The match came in additional time, and Maclaren did not take too long to finally have an impact in the grand final.
With MBSG putting more men in advance, the defense of Bengaluru FC slipped into a place of pain. Maclaren’s fierce effort from the inside of the box as soon as he acquired possession beat Sandhu and struck the net center in the 96th minute, sealing a memorable victory for Mohun Bagan.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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