“This is the result we wanted,” says Saheed Ramon after seeing through his side winning their first match of the 2019/20 Hero 2nd Division League. “Credit to the entire team. We really worked hard for this win. I am happy with the three points.”

Mohammedan Sporting Club eased past Bhawanipore FC 3-0 on Saturday with Sanjib Ghosh (2nd), John Chidi (26th) and Satyam Sharma (80th) getting on the score-sheet at Kalyani Stadium.

“It is good to play and win with new the players we have introduce,” comments a visibly happy Ramon. “The new players have made a difference and gelling well with the team.”

Though happy with the three points, Ramon believes there is still a lot of work to do. “We had some moments of jitters at the back but recovered and became solid with the progress of the game. When you have collected three points it makes it easy to go back and fix the mistakes. I am happy with the start of the season.” added the Nigerian mentor.

Ramon was forced to alter his plans on the eve of the clash. “Tirthankar Sarkar felt some discomfort during the week,” says Ramon, “The technical team thought he was going to be fine to play but unfortunately the pain persisted. We took a decision to withdraw him and put him on the bench because we didn’t want to risk aggravating the injury.”

The coach also went into the first match of the season without skipper Musa Mudde and he says: “It is a matter of managing the player. I see the matter is receiving interest but everybody at Mohammedan Sporting Club is aware that Musa struggling with his hamstring and we are trying to give him the necessary care to recover. He will have time in the next two weeks to recover and be available for selection in the next match.”

The coach says that they will thoroughly prepare for the next match as it will be Black Panthers’ first home game of the season to be played on February 11, 2020 against Bengaluru FC Reserves.

(Mohammedan Sporting Club)