Mohun Bagan Super Giant eases past Punjab FC

Mohun Bagan Super Giants players celebrate after beating Punjab FC 3-0 in an ISL match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Jamie Maclaren scored twice to star in Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s 3-0 win over Punjab FC in an ISL match at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Wednesday and improved its chances of retaining the League Shield.

Liston Colaco scored the other goal as the home team took its tally to 46 points from 20 matches and opened up a 12-point lead over second-placed Jamshedpur FC, which has played two matches less.

The opening half did not see much action as Bagan struggled to open up space against the tight defence of the 
Punjab side. Greg Stewart had a chance in the 10th minute but his right-footed effort was nicely tipped over by Ravi Kumar.

Mohun Bagan continued to show its offensive intent with regular incursions inside the Punjab box but the visitor’s defence somehow held firm.

The match came alive in the 55th minute when Punjab launched a counter-attack and saw its play-maker Pula Vidal moving into the Bagan box. His accurate cross found Petros Giakoumakis unmarked on the Bagan goalmouth, but the Greek forward found his attempt coming off the upright.

This seemed to bring Mohun Bagan out of its slumber and the host took the lead in the very next minute (56th
 minute) to set itself on the victory path. Maclaren, assisted by a cross from Dipendu Biswas, broke the deadlock with a nice finish.

Colaco doubled the lead in the 63rd minute from a fine solo effort before Maclaren completed the tally with his second in the 90th minute.

The result: Mohun Bagan 3 (Maclaren 56, 90, Colaco 63) bt Punjab FC 0.