2024 Super Cup Matchday 3 Roundup: East Bengal, Mumbai City, and Odisha join Jamshedpur in semis
The 2024 Indian Super Cup Group Stage concluded with the final four teams decided for the semi-final stage as East Bengal will be facing Khalid Jamil’s Jamshedpur while Mumbai City will face defending champions Odisha in the other semi-final.
Indian football fans will be delighted to watch two of those competing for the prestigious 2024 Kalinga Super Cup trophy as the resumption of the Indian Super League looms large on everybody’s heads.
Group A
Hyderabad and Sreenidi Deccan kicked off Matchday 3 proceedings with the Hyderabad Derby and the Nizams conceded the first goal as Ibrahim Sissoko headed the ball in the back of the net in the fifth minute.
Less than a couple of minutes later, former Chennaiyin and Jamshedpur defender Eli Sabia doubled Sreenidi’s lead with another header from a corner routine. Lalromawia stunned Hyderabad fans with another goal as Hyderabad was trailing 3-0 to an I-League side in less than ten minutes.
Poor defending from the ISL side continued as Kean Lewis scored another headed goal on the evening giving Sreenidi a 4-0 lead in the first half of the first-ever Hyderabad Derby. Ubaid CK almost walked away with a clean sheet but Makan Chothe pulled a goal back with a swerving strike in the 83rd minute as Sreenidi finished the campaign as the third-best side in Group A.
In the 7:30 pm kickoff on Friday, Mohun Bagan SG faced East Bengal in the much-awaited Kolkata Derby and the Torchbearers exacted revenge on the Mariners for the Durand Cup final defeat by knocking MBSG out of the 2024 Super Cup.
Cleiton Silva scored a brace to help his side win 3-1
Armando Sadiku had the ball in the back of the net in the second minute but it was disallowed for offside and Hector Yuste finally scored the first goal of the evening with a clever finish in the 19th minute from a rehearsed corner routine. After striking the crossbar almost instantly, Cleiton Silva restored parity in the 24th minute with a stunning strike from the edge of the box.
In the added time of the first half, Kiyan Nassiri struck Hijazi Maher’s hand and while the first penalty taken by Dimitri Petratos beat Prabhsukhan Gill, the effort was disallowed due to encroachment. The second effort by Petratos stung the woodwork and Sadiku kneed the rebound out of play.
In the 62nd minute, Borja Herrera pounced on a Ravi Rana mistake but the Spaniard’s shot bounced back off the post and Nandhakumar Sekar was in position to help Carles Cuadrat’s side take the lead in the third Kolkata Derby of the season. Another mistake from Arsh Anwar Sheikh allowed Silva to get his second goal of the evening helping East Bengal serve another defeat for their crosstown rivals and knock them out of the tournament.
Group B
Group B toppers Jamshedpur took on Shillong Lajong in a dead-rubber encounter as the Men of Steel became the first side to stamp a ticket for the semi-final in Matchday 2.
After multiple efforts from Semboi Haokip and Imran Khan failed to beat Bishal Lama in the opposition goal, Mohammed Sanan pierced the Lajong defense to give Jamil’s side the lead at the end of the first half.
Nikhil Bala earned a penalty early in the second half but Seiminlen Doungel struck the crossbar from 12 yards. In the 73rd minute, Sanan turned provider as he crossed the ball for Haokip who scored the second goal of the afternoon.
In another inconsequential match on Saturday, Kerala Blasters faced NorthEast United and the Highlanders started the match on a positive note by opening the floodgates inside 90 seconds as Parthib Gogoi beat Sachin Suresh in the Blasters’ goal.
In the 15th minute, Juan Pedro Benali was left cursing his defenders as they gifted Bidyashagar Singh a golden opportunity but the young striker fired wide from a few yards’ distance. Sachin made a couple of good saves and the offside flag also came to the Blasters’ rescue to keep the scoreline 1-0 at the end of the first half.
With almost a quarter of the match left, Prabir Das pulled Redeem Tlang outside the penalty area and Mohammed Ali Bemammer struck a powerful free-kick giving NorthEast United a 2-0 lead.
Within a couple of minutes, Dimitrios Diamantakos scored a solo goal to pull one goal back for his side and keep their hopes alive in the match. In the 75th minute, Jithin MS earned a corner kick by displaying silky footwork and Redeem banged the ball in the back of the net from the resulting set-piece routine to earn back the two-goal advantage.
Jithin kept swinging the magic wand and finally scored a goal himself outwitting Sachin a long distance away from his goal before rolling the ball in the back of the empty net for a 4-1 win.
Group C
Punjab and Gokulam Kerala kicked off the action on Sunday at 2 pm and the Malabarians kept attacking Kiran Limbu’s goal but could not find the desired output throughout the match. Basit Bhat getting sent off for collecting two yellow cards was the highlight of the fixture as the contest ended 0-0, the first instance of a scoreless draw in the ongoing Super Cup campaign.
Shifting the focus back to the main pitch of Kalinga Stadium, Chennaiyin needed a win against Mumbai City in the evening and the Islanders thwarted Chennaiyin’s first attempt as Rahim Ali’s powerful shot was saved by Phurba Lachenpa.
Mumbai City and Chennaiyin fought hard for the three points
The Marina Machans dominated the first 20 minutes but Valpuia scored for Petr Kratky’s side against the run of play heading Yoell van Nieff’s free-kick into the back of the net.
Just before the hour-mark, Connor Shields set up Jordan Murray whose header was brilliantly saved by Lachenpa who made another crucial save in the 80th minute denying Irfan Yadwad’s header to preserve his clean sheet.
Group D
Bengaluru and Inter Kashi finally went head to head as both sides were looking for their first points of the campaign in the 2 pm kickoff on Monday. After early threats from Gianni dos Santos from the right wing, Edmund Lalrindikia opened the scoring in the 15th minute, cutting in on his right foot from the left wing to beat Sahil in goal.
In the 57th minute, Inter Kashi skipper Sumeet Passi fouled Ryan Williams inside the penalty area and Javi Hernandez stepped up to convert the spot-kick with ease. Both sides were happy to walk away with a point each as the newest I-League entrants displayed courage throughout the Super Cup campaign after being placed in a group with three former Super Cup winners.
Odisha welcomed Goa in the fiercest battle of the Group of Death and both goalkeepers stood tall to preserve their clean sheets as the match went into half-time at 0-0.
In the 50th minute, miscommunication between Seriton Fernandes and Odei Onaindia presented Diego Mauricio with a golden opportunity who was fouled by Dheeraj Singh and Ahmed Jahouh stepped up to convert the spot-kick as Dheeraj dived the wrong way.
At the hour mark, Jahouh’s corner found Mourtada Fall who rose the highest and headed the ball in the back of the net. Five minutes later, Jahouh’s free-kick found Fall and the former Goa defender scored against his former club for the fourth time this season taking his overall goalscoring tally of the season to 8 goals to give Odisha a comfortable 3-0 lead.
In the 75th minute, Fall slipped on the ball offering Carlos Martinez a golden chance to pull one back and the Spaniard made no mistake to bag the first goal for the Gaurs on Monday evening.
The Kalinga Warriors were left sweating soon as Jahouh fouled Martinez and the striker outwitted the wall and the goalkeeper to set up a few nervy minutes for the Odisha defenders. Pressure got to Sergio Lobera’s side as Vignesh Dakshinamurthy gave away the ball to Brison Fernandes in injury time but he could only earn a corner which was wasted by the Gaurs.