Munmun Lugun scored an absolute belter in the third minute of additional time to seal a narrow 1-0 for Mohammaden at the Kalyani Stadium this evening.
With their local rivals Bhawanipore FC having kicked off their I League qualifies with a comfortable 2-0 win over Bengaluru United, the pressure was on favourites Mohammaden SC to deliver.
The Kolkata outfits started brightly but were forced to feed on scrapes in the first half with chances far and few. The game lit up in the second half with Mohammaden pressing for the opener and should have broken the deadlock in the 64th minute when Moinuddin was tipped inside the box and the referee pointed to the stop. Willis Plaza, now a black panther having moved from Churchill Brothers, stepped up to take the spot kick only to hit the woodwork.
The game dragged on with Garhwal FC able to keep the home side at bay and a stalemate looked the likely result as regulation time ended and the additional time from the fourth referee came up. Mohammaden’s defender Munmun Lugun, however, had other ideas and stole the limelight and the three points when he fired in an unstoppable shot with his left foot three minutes into additional time to seal the win for Mohammaden Sporting Club.