AFC Cup: Mohun Bagan crush South China AA 4-0 to top group

ByAmlan Majumdar, SportsCafe Editor

03/09/2016

Mohun Bagan played with gutso beating a 10-man South China AA 4-0 in the AFC Cup league match at Hong Kong to reach the top of Group G. Sony Norde led from the front scoring a goal and assisting in another to propel Mohun Bagan to their second win of the tournament in emphatic fashion.

South China XI: Leung Hing Kit(GK), Cheung Kin Fung, Malisic Bojan(c), Che Runqiu, Agbo Wisdom Fofo, Cheung Chi Yung, Mahama Awal, Philip Chan, Leung Chun Pong, Ryan Griffiths, Lam Hok Hei

Mohun Bagan XI: Debjit Majumdar(GK), Pritam Kotal, Luciano Sobrosa, Kinshuk, Prabir Das, Pronay Haldar, Katsumi Yusa, Lenny Rodrigues, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Cornell Glen, Sony Norde

Mohun Bagan took on South China AA in their second group game in the AFC Cup. Katsumi Yusa and Cornell Glen started brightly, and it was the former’s freekick that was brilliantly saved by Leung Hing, only for Lenny Rodrigues to head it in the back of the net to give the Indian visitors the lead. South China then had Che Rungiu sent off for a foul on Katsumi Yusa.

15' GOAL for !! Lenny Rodrigues scores! Wonderful free-kick from Katsumi Yusa!
— FOX Sports Asia (@FOXSportsAsia)

The Kolkata outfit made full use of it, as Sony Norde made a brilliant solo run from the left side of the Chinese defence and scored from a tight angle to double the lead in the 39th minute.

Mohun Bagan were ripping the South China defence apart at will, and in the 44th minute they put the game to bed when Cornell Glen scored after receiving a selfless pass from Sony Norde. The two players combined brilliantly to carve open the home side before the Trinidad player bundled home the third before half time.

After the break, the Chinese team continued to look out of sorts with no defensive organization. Jeje found himself one-on-one with the keeper and looked in for a goal but was brought down by the defender after he had dribbled past the goalie. Sony Norde making a late run in the box was at hand to pick up the pieces, but his shot blazed way over the crossbar.

After numerous close chances were spurned by Glen and Norde, Jeje Lalpekhlua added gloss to the scoreline scoring a powerful header past Leung Hit in the dying minutes of the game from a pinpoint freekick delivery put in by Yusa Katsumi.