Mohammedan Sporting Club defeated Sporting Clube de Goa 3-1 in a Round 19 encounter of the Airtel I-League at the Saltlake Stadium on Friday evening.

Goals from Luciano Sabrosa and Josimar gave the hosts a two-goal advantage in the first half but Cajetan Fernandes pulled one back for the Goan outfit while Mohammedan defender Mehrajuddin Wadoo was sent off just before the interval.

However the Kolkata giants defended solidly with ten men in the second half and scored through substitute Nirmal Chettri late on to secure their first win in eight I-League matches.

They now go four points clear of rock-bottom Rangdajied United while second-placed Sporting Clube remain three behind league leaders Bengaluru FC.

Mohammedan Sporting looked to make a fast start and their first big chance came from a corner when Israil Gurung’s delivery was not cleared properly by Sporting Clube but an unmarked Mehraj couldn’t hit the target.

Sporting Clube were quiet in the opening stages but could and should have taken the lead when Nallappan Mohanraj’s long throw fell kindly for debutant Martins Ekwueme but the Nigerian’s effort rattled the woodwork.

It was end-to-end action as Mohammedan’s Manish Maithani saw his header get cleared off the line by Beevan D’Mello. Eventually the home team’s good start paid dividends as they were awarded a penalty when Josimar was brought down inside the box by Keenan Almeida.

Brazilian centre-back Sabrosa stepped up to take the spot-kick and coolly found the back of the net after sending Ravi Kumar the wrong way.

Sporting Clube saw more of the ball after going behind with India international Victorino Fernandes looking dangerous but the youngster’s finishing wasn’t clinical.

Mohammedan doubled their advantage midway through the first half when Israil Gurung’s lovely pass found Japanese Taro Hasegawa inside the box. The Japanese’s effort was saved by Ravi but Josimar scored from the rebound.

Having gone two up, Mohammedan Sporting started to sit back a little and that allowed Sporting Clube to dominate possession. Martins and Victorino both went close but the equaliser came through Cajetan who slotted home after a fine pass into the box by the overlapping Mohanraj.

Sporting Clube’s strong finish to the half ended with Mehraj getting a straight red for a professional foul on Beevan, who dispossessed the Kashmiri just outside the Mohammedan box.

Mohammedan coach Sanjoy Sen brought on the experienced Nirmal in place of Collin Abranches at the start of the second half and the Sikkimese player’s introduction gave solidity to the Kolkata club’s defence.

Sporting Clube had plenty of attacks in the second half but never really got behind the Mohammedan defence to seriously test Luis Barreto. However the home side’s goalkeeper had to stop a couple of Sporting Clube efforts from outside the box to preserve his side’s lead.

As the match entered the closing stages, Mohammedan crucially scored the third after a well-worked corner with Maithani flicking on for Nirmal to head past Ravi and complete the double over Sporting Clube.

(Report & Picture courtesy AIFF Media)