Mohun Bagan on course for Indian Super League double

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan SG are alive with their dream of an Indian Super League ( ISL ) ‘double’.

A penalty by Jason Cummings (51) and a banger from Lalengmawia Ralte ‘Apuia’ (90+4) helped Jose Molina’s League Shield winners subdue a doggedly defensive Jamshedpur FC 2-0 in the return leg of the ISL Cup semifinals at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday and clinch a place in the final for the third season running with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

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Mohun Bagan — who lost the championship final to Mumbai City last season — will host Bengaluru FC in the summit clash here on April 12, hoping to become the second team to seal a Shield-and-Cup double.

Khalid Jamil’s Jamshedpur came here with a 2-1 advantage and laid out an ultra-defensive plan, making life difficult for Bagan, who lashed the rival box with attack after attack.

In the absence of suspended defensive mainstay Stephen Eze and Ashutosh Mehta, Pranoy Halder rose to the occasion, trying to keep Jamshedpur afloat against the tide. But Halder also committed blunders allowing Bagan the necessary routes to turn things around.

First, Halder handled Tom Aldred’s header off a Cummings corner. Cummings made no mistake from the resultant penalty. Then, Apuia provided the proverbial coup de grâce, after Halder gave the ball away to Anirudh Thapa who laid it in the Mizo’s path.