Calcutta: Mohammedan Sporting's winning run ended when Peerless SC held them goalless in a CFL Premier Division A tie at the Barasat Stadium on Sunday.
The result comes in as kind of a setback for Mohammedan Sporting as they were looking for their fifth straight win to reduce the gap with tabletoppers East Bengal. Mohammedan Sporting now have 16 points from seven games.
They began on a positive note, though, but Peerless defended well, led by Nigerian Eze Kingsley Obumnems. Peerless were banking on counter-attacks in the first half.
In the 27th minute, Mohammedan Sporting got a very good chance to score but Peerless custodian Sankar Roy came up with a brilliant save to deny Dipendu Dowary. Leonce Dodoz tried to make use of the rebound, but his shot went wide.
But it was Peerless midfielder Argha Chakraborty who got the easiest chance to score. Unfortunately for Peerless, Argha couldn't capitalise.
Goalie Roy was adjudged Man of the Match for a few extra ordinary saves. Importantly, he saved Peerless's day in their game against Bagan too.
Syed Rahim Nabi also played well, frequently changing his position from left to right. Striker Ansumana Kromah came close to finding the target twice for Peerless in the second session. One of his shots went wide while the other hit the vertical.
Mohammedan Sporting coach Mridul Banerjee, expectedly, was disappointed with his team's performance. "We can't alter this result, but we must ensure to make amends in our remaining matches. "We are looking forward to win all of them," Banerjee said.
Mohammedan Sporting: Shayan Roy; Nitesh Chhikara, Lancine Toure, Rana Gharami, Pranit Lama Tamang; Usman Ashique (Sheikh Faiaz, 26), Dipankar Das, Mumtaz Akhtar, Dipendu Dowary (Parminder Singh, 76); Manvir Singh (Manjit Singh, 90), Leonce Dodoz.
Peerless SC: Sankar Roy; Arijit Bagui, Eze Kingsley Obumnems, Akhil Rajbanshi, Zoheb Hassan; Argha Chakraborty, Sukhwinder Singh (Irfan Khan, 75), Sharukh Rahman, Anil Kisku (Laxmi Kanta Mandi, 90); Syed Rahim Nabi, Ansumana Kromah.
Referee: Amal Kar
MoM: Sankar Roy
