Kolkata: Punjab FC posted a comfortable 3-0 victory over Mumbai City FC courtesy of a double from Norwegian Mushaga Bakenga and an injury-time strike from Filip Mrzljak in a Group C encounter of the 133rd Durand Cup played here at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan.
Punjab FC finished their group stage campaign with seven points, the same as Kerala Blasters but the Kerala outfit qualified for the knockouts as group winners on virtue of their superior goal difference.
Punjab FC who are currently the best second-placed team in the tournament but The Shers will have to wait for the results of the other matches to confirm their place in the knockouts.
Punjab FC Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis made two changes to his starting eleven with Croatian defender Ivan Novoselec coming in for Melroy Assisi and Nitesh Darjee for Khaimingthang Lhungdim in left back.
Mumbai City started Harsh Kadam in goal and Christopher Rajkumar as the lone man upfront as Mohan Suresh Dass set his boys out for their last game of the tournament.
Punjab FC started on the front foot putting pressure on the young Mumbai City side. Harsh Kadam was forced into two early saves, denying Vinit Rai and Filip Mrzljak for the early lead. Punjab for all their possession could not create any meaningful chances from that point on.
Mumbai City defended deep inside their own half with resilience, frustrating The Shers. Punjab looked impatient in their build-up, wasting their chances as the service to the forwards was lacking, which also made life easier for the impressive Mumbai defence in the first half.
Punjab FC received a penalty at the start of the second half as Mumbai defender Arsh Bhagawan handled the ball inside the box. The penalty was blasted over the crossbar by Luka Majcen and minutes later substitute Mushaga Bakenga missed a sitter, adding to the frustrations for The Shers.
Punjab finally broke the resilient Mumbai defence in the 62nd minute when Filip Mrzljak expertly found Bakenga in the far post and the new signing found the goal with a well-placed header. The next thirty minutes of the game was a story of missed opportunities for Punjab FC. They missed a hoard of chances to increase their lead as they continued to be wasteful in front of goal.
The Shers finally scored twice in added time as Filip Mrzljak found the bottom corner of the goal with a left-footer after being set up by Muhammed Suhail and in the last minute of the game, Bakenga converted a penalty to give the Shers a 3-0 victory and secure all three points to make them in a position to qualify for the knockouts.
—ANI