Kolkata: Mohun Bagan Super Giant recorded a 3-1 win in the Durand Cup 2023 quarter-final as they got the better of Mumbai City FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Jason Cummings (9’) put Mohun Bagan SG ahead before Jorge Diaz (28’) equalised for Mumbai City FC. The hosts soon reclaimed their lead through Manvir Singh (30’) before Anwar Ali (63’) added another one.
Mohun Bagan SG started the game on a positive note and were awarded a penalty early on after Mumbai City FC keeper Phurba Lachenpa brought down Cummings. The Australian striker made no mistake from the spot to give his side the lead.
It was end to end action in Kolkata, with both teams trying their best to create opportunities. Mumbai City FC soon made their way back into the game with a goal at the half-hour mark. Alberto Noguera squared the ball to Jorge Diaz, who made the scores level with a tap in.
But it didn’t take long for Mohun Bagan SG to restore their lead. After a corner was cleared away, Hugo Boumous whipped in a delicious cross for Manvir Singh to head home at the far post. Both sides continued to create opportunities in the second half but the home side scored again after Mumbai City FC were caught napping. Ashique Kuruniyan beat his marker and delivered a looping cross which was met by Anwar Ali’s accurate header.
Mumbai City tried to make their way back into the game and came close to scoring on a few occasions, but the Islanders could hardly test Mohun Bagan SG keeper Vishal Kaith in the latter stages of the game.
The Mariners, having last made it to the last four of the tournament during the 2019 edition, will face an unbeaten FC Goa side in the semi-final.
The past two years have been nothing short of extraordinary for Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s new striker Jason Cummings. Having spent the majority of his professional career in the United Kingdom, he joined A-League side Central Coast Mariners in 2022, midway during the season and finished the campaign as their top scorer. His impressive stint with the Mariners saw him being rewarded with his first senior cap for the Australian football team that year. Cummings had previously represented the Scottish national team in two friendlies earlier, but was eligible to represent Australia, his mother’s homeland. Later on, he earned a surprise call-up to the Socceroos 26-member squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, going on to make a solitary appearance at the mega event.
In the A-League final, he led the way by scoring a hat-trick, also setting a new club record for most goals scored in a single season. For a player who had settled in a new environment and country, it would have been easy for Cummings to continue playing Down Under. But when Mohun Bagan SG came calling, the 27-year-old couldn’t resist the opportunity to challenge himself in another league.
“It just seemed exciting to me (the opportunity). I’m the kind of personality that is spontaneous and I do things to challenge myself. Looking at the videos, the heritage that this club has, the history, it’s a really good established club with generations of fans,”he said during an interview as part of the In
The Stands show.