India: Late Winner For Mohammedan Against Vasco

      
Mohammedan got back to winning ways as they beat fellow relegation contender Vasco 1-0 at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata.
  For long periods it was looking like the match will end in a goalless draw but two second half substitutes- Sovan Chakraborty and Vimal Pariyar of Mohammedan combined to get the only goal of the game three minutes from the end.
  With Theo out Mohammedan were expected to start cautiously and they did so as their midfielders were reluctant to support captain Okoro who was playing as the lone striker upfront. There was a new face in the Mohammedan midfield as young Lalhriatzuala Tezoka was given his first start.
  A new look Mohammedan midfield probably helped rock bottom Vasco to dominate proceedings in midfield in the early stages of the match. As both Minino Fernandes and Rashabaev were looking pretty strong in that area as Mohammedan were struggling to keep the possession.
  But having said it took almost 30 minutes for Vasco to create their first real chance of the game. It came when Sherzod Nazarov did well to get a dangerous ball in to the six yard box but Minino’s goal bound effort was well saved by the in form Tharangachan. Mohammedan failed to clear their lines and that gave Abhishek Yadav the time and space to shoot but his well driven shot hit the bar.
  After this scare for Mohammedan there was some unexpected rest as the game had to be stopped for 11 minutes as smoke had entered the ground due to some activity in a nearby fair.
When play resumed Mohammedan created their first chance when Okoro’s through ball went behind the Vasco defense but  Goutam Thakur couldn’t hit the target.
The black and white were seeing more of the ball now but couldn’t create too many chances. But at the other end Vasco had another chance to score when a low corner by Minino somehow find its way into the six yard box due to a deflection but Agnelo D’Souza’s weak effort was cleared off the line by Rajib Ghosh.
  The score at halftime was 0-0 but Vasco were clearly the better team in the first half.
Mohammedan started the second half having made one change at half time with Sovan Chakraborty coming in place of Tezoka as Goutam Thakur was pushed upfront to support Okoro.
  This positive attitude nearly did the trick for Mohammedan ten minutes into the second half when Okoro’s brilliant outside of the foot cross was headed goalwards by Thakur but his header hit the bar thus equaling things when it came to hitting the woodwork.
  After this it was a case of Mohammedan making the moves but running out of ideas in the final third. Vasco were playing on the break and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Agnelo D’Souza was brought down in the box by Wasim Feroz but the referee waved play on.
  The threat was there from Vasco but this being a home match Shabbir Ali had to go for the win so he took off Jyoti Kumar and brought on another striker in Vimal Pariyar.
The changes helped Mohammedan to create better chances but they were not taking them as both Adebayo and Thakur missed decent chances.
  And  it was looking like again an I-League match will end in a goalless draw but in the 87th minute Sovan Chakraborty’s crossed with his right foot from the left wing.Vasco goalkeeper Medeira misjudged the flight of the cross and Vimal Pariyar was at the right place and at the right time to head the ball into the back of the net.
This late goal proved to be the winner as Mohammedan held on for three very important points.
This result moves Mohammedan out of the relegation zone into eighth spot with nine points from eight games while Vasco are still rock bottom with two points from eight games.