Punjab FC posts comfortable win over Mumbai City, Kerala Blasters qualify for knockouts

 Punjab FC – 3 (Bakenga 62’90’+8 (P), Mrzljak 90’+1)                                               Mumbai City FC– 0

During match 28 of Group C played between Punjab FC and Mumbai City FC of the 133rd Durand Cup 2024 at Kishore Bharati Krirangan in KOLKATA on August 11, 2024.

Khel Today Bureau

Kolkata: Punjab FC posted a comfortable 3-0 victory over Mumbai City FC courtesy of a double from Norwegian Mushaga Bakenga and an injury time strike from Filip Mrzljak in a Group C encounter of the 133^rd IndianOil Durand Cup played here at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan. Punjab FC finished their group stage campaign with seven points, same as Kerala Blasters but the Kerala outfit qualified for the knockouts as group winners on virtue of their superior goal difference.

Punjab FC who are currently the best second placed team in the tournament but The Shers will have to wait for the results of the other matches to confirm their place in the knockouts.

All 43 matches of the 133rd IndianOil Durand Cup will be broadcast LIVE on the Sony Sports Network (Sony Ten2 HD) as well as livestreamed on the SonyLiv OTT platform

Punjab FC Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis made two changes to his starting eleven with Croatian defender Ivan Novoselec coming in for Melroy Assisi and Nitesh Darjee for Khaimingthang Lhungdim in left back. Mumbai City started Harsh Kadam in goal and Christopher Rajkumar as the lone man upfront as Mohan Suresh Dass set his boys out for their last game of the tournament.

Punjab FC started on the front foot putting pressure on the young Mumbai City side. Harsh Kadam was forced into two early saves, denying Vinit Rai and Filip Mrzljak for the early lead. Punjab for all their possession could not create any meaningful chances from that point on. Mumbai City defended deep inside their own half with resilience, frustrating The Shers. Punjab looked impatient in their build-up, wasting their chances as the service to the forwards were lacking, which also made life easier for the impressive Mumbai defence in the first half.

Punjab FC received a penalty at the start of the second half as Mumbai defender Arsh Bhagawan handled the ball inside the box. The penalty was blasted over the crossbar by Luka Majcen and minutes later substitute Mushaga Bakenga missed a sitter, adding to the frustrations for The Shers.

Punjab finally broke the resilient Mumbai defence in the 62^nd minute when Filip Mrzljak expertly found Bakenga in the far post and the new signing found the goal with a well-placed header. The next thirty minutes of the game was a story of missed opportunities for Punjab FC. They missed a hoard of chances to increase their lead as they continued to be wasteful in front of goal.

The Shers finally scored twice in added time as Filip Mrzljak found the bottom corner of the goal with a left footer after being set up by Muhammed Suhail and in the last minute of the game, Bakenga converted a penalty to give the Shers a 3-0 victory and secure all three points to make them in a position to qualify for the knockouts.

Bodoland to face BSF FT on Monday

Local side Bodoland FC will finish their Durand Cup campaign as they take on Border Security Force XI in a Group E encounter at the SAI Stadium in Kokrajhar. The match is scheduled to kick-off at 7 PM. Bodoland will look to finish the campaign with a win against the para – military side who have lost both of their matches. Bodoland have won one and lost the other match in the group while BSF lost both their matches.