AGENCIES
BHUBANEWAR
Striker Aser Dipanda Dicka struck twice, including one from the spot, as Mohun Bagan rallied to beat Churchill Brothers 2-1 and book a quarter-final berth in the Super Cup football tournament on Sunday.
Mohun Bagan were trailing after Willis Plaza found the target in the 30th minute but Dicka equalised by converting from the spot at the stroke of half-time (45+2) before scoring the match-winner in the 70th minute to help his side secure a last-eight spot.
It was Nicholas Fernandes who did the spadework for Churchill’s goal as he ran down the middle of the pitch and squared the ball for Plaza at the edge of the box. The Trinidadian took a touch, went past Eze Kingsley and found the back of the net.
Jolted by the reverse, Mohun Bagan attacked relentlessly and their efforts paid dividends as the Kolkata giants won a penalty kick in the added time of the first half after Nicholas Fernandes brought SK Faiaz inside the box. Dicka stepped up to convert the spot kick. His initial shot was saved by Churchill goalkeeper Ricardo Cardozo but Cameroonian pushed the ball into the net from the rebound.
Mohun Bagan continued from where they left in the first half with several waves of attacks against the citadel of the Goan side. Watson sent a long ball inside the Churchill box and Akram Moghrabi kept the ball in play with a header for Dicka to slot it home comfortably.
Bengaluru survive Gokulam scare
In the day’s earlier match, Udanta Singh scored a stoppage time goal as Bengaluru FC beat Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 to advance to the quarters. Henry Kisseka put the I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala FC in the lead in the 33rd minute but Miku restored parity for Bengaluru in the 70th minute before Udanta (90+5 minute) found the match-winner for the Indian Super League runners-up with a few seconds left in
the match.
The first half began with Gokulam FC pressing hard. However, it was Bengaluru who had the first clear chance to take a lead in the 11th minute, when Sunil Chetri failed to find the back of the net, thanks to a brilliant save from the Kerala side goalkeeper Nikhil Barnard. Thereafter, a series of attacks plied on both sides yielding no results.
However, a brilliant pass in the 33rd minute from Gokulam FCs Macedonian forward Hristijan Denkovski to Henry Kisseka gave the I-League outfit a crucial lead in the game. Bengaluru pressed hard constantly on Gokulam FC but some brilliant interceptions and a solid defence coupled with some error-free goalkeeping kept their opponents at bay.
Bengaluru FC nearly scored one in the 50th minute through Subhashis Bose, but the ball hit the post. Their continued effort finally yielded results when Miku scored in the 70th minute through a brilliant back heel pass from Udanta, beating Gokulam FC goalkeeper Bernard.
Thereafter, it was Bengaluru FC dominating the field, pressing high up in the attack with large numbers in a bid to take the lead and their efforts finally brought results through a brilliant goal from Udanta in the dying seconds of the injury time.
