Mohun Bagan SG ride Petratos goal, defend ISL title | Football News

Kolkata: Time stood almost still when Manvir Singh set the ball rolling to Dimitri Petratos. Four minutes into an extraordinarily long added time of nine minutes, this was probably the last chance for Mohun Bagan Super Giant to win this year’s Indian Super League at home. Without a clear sight of the goal, Petratos still turned and unleashed the shot, watching it then elude Odisha FC’s scattered backline and the goalkeeper to bulge the side net.

With it Mohun Bagan became the first team in ISL history to defend the title, also booking a place in the AFC Champions League 2, the continent’s second tier club competition. With two matches still left, Mohun Bagan have secured 52 points from 22 games and widened the gap with second-placed FC Goa, who have 42 points from 21 matches. Last season, Mohun Bagan had won the ISL with 50 points.

It could well have been 51 after 22 matches given how Odisha FC showed resilience in denying Bagan the winning goal for 93 minutes. The deadlock seemed to have been broken in the 85th minute when Mourtada Fall brought down Jamie MacLaren on the edge of the box, prompting animated appeals for a penalty. But the hosts only got a free-kick after Fall was given the marching orders. Four minutes before that MacLaren was brilliantly set up by Petratos but failed to turn it in.

Before and after half-time was marked by some scrappy football from both sides even though Odisha did try to make some dents, particularly in the 65th minute when Hugo Boumous was allowed to make a penetrating run and take a swing at the goal, only for Vishal Kaith to pull off a brilliant diving save. This was after Manvir had missed a sitter; he received a cross from Greg Stewart inside the box but shot wide.

Before that MacLaren was all over the Odisha FC goalmouth, testing their defence on several occasions. But he was repeatedly denied by either goalkeeper Amrinder Singh or by clumsy challenges. Petratos came on in the 78th minute in place of Tom Aldred, as part of a double change to inject more pace into Bagan’s final run. It was a move that finally paid off but not without some last-minute despair.

Of his six shots on the goal, Petratos was on target thrice, the last one fetching Mohun Bagan the winner. “I guess I take my chances,” he said later when asked what was going through his mind when the ball came to him. “I just stayed calm. When I saw we had nine minutes of extra time, I thought this could be it.” And it was.