A 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant downed metropolis rival Mohammedan Sporting 3-1 in a Group-B match to start out its marketing campaign in the 134th Durand Cup on notice at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.
Needing a win to outlive in the event, Sporting struggled in opposition to an environment friendly Bagan, which discovered the lead in the twenty third minute when Liston Colaco scored from a free-kick.
A pink card to its midfield mainstay Apuia in the forty third minute put the ISL champion on the again foot and Sporting utilised the numerical benefit to seek out the equaliser by Ashley Koli in the fiftieth minute.
Bagan , fielding an all-Indian facet, restored the lead in the 63rd minute by Suhail Bhat earlier than Colaco scored a penalty in the ultimate minute of added time to finish a facile win.
Earlier in Kokrajhar, native facet Bodoland FC (BDFC) registered its first win with a 2-1 victory over debutant Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC (KAMSFC) in a tightly contested Group-D match at the SAI Stadium.
Karbi Anglong discovered the lead by Nigerian ahead Joseph Mayowa Olaleye earlier than Gwgwmsar Gayary discovered equaliser for Bodoland. Colombian striker Robinson struck close to the hour mark to provide Bodoland full factors.
The outcomes: Group-B (Kolkata): Mohun Bagan Super Giant 3 (Liston Colaco 23, 90+6-pen, Suhail Bhat 63) bt Mohd. Sporting 1 (Ashley Koli 50). Group-D (Kokrajhar): Bodoland FC 2 (Gayary 37, Robinson 60) bt Karbi Anglong MS 1 (Olaleye 25).
