Mohun Bagan SG 3-3 Punjab FC Highlights: Mariners reaches Durand Cup 2024 semifinal, wins 6-5 in sudden death

With that, we come to the end of the third quarterfinal of Durand Cup 2024, between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Punajab FC, from Jamshedpur.

After six goals and 12 spot-kicks that followed, it was the defending champion that had the last laugh. Thanks for tuning in today and keep following Sportstar for live updates in sports!

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Durand Cup 2024: Mohun Bagan SG beats Punjab FC in sudden death to reach semifinal

After the quarterfinal contest ended 3-3 in regulation time, Thomas Aldred scored the winning penalty for the Mariners to beat Ravi Kumar and secure victory in the rollercoaster of a battle.

Mohun Bagan Super Giant wins 6-5 in sudden death and will now face either Kerala Blasters or Bengaluru FC in the semifinal, at the Salt Lake Stadium on August 27.

Punjab FC - Denechandra takes the penalty and Kaith makes a save!

Mohun Bagan - Aldred scores and Mohun Bagan wins the match 6-5 in sudden death.

Punjab FC: Melroy converts, finding the bottom-left corner.

Mohun Bagan: Subhasish Bose finds the net. The score now 5-5

Punjab FC: Ivan shoots for Punjab and dives to his left but the ball comes off the post

Mohun Bagan: Stewart scored for Mohun Bagan and the score is level. We go into sudden death now!

Punjab FC - Filip steps up and scores, with Kaith again diving to his right and Filip going with a shot through the middle

Mohun Bagan - Petratos converts for Mohun Bagan, finding the top-right corner, making it 4-3 at the moment. 

Punjab FC - Bakenga steps up for the third kick and scores to put Punjab further ahead.

Mohun Bagan - Colaco, too, scores, with the score 3-2 to Punjab at the moment.

Punjab FC - Pulga Vidal takes Punjab’s second spot-kick and he too sends the goalkeeper the other side, scoring the penalty for Punjab

Mohun Bagan - Manvir takes the second penalty for Mohun Bagan. Ravi jumps to the correct side, but fails to stop the ball which rattles the net, making it 2-1 after two kicks each.

Punjab FC - Vinit Rai scores, sends goalkeeper to the other side

Mohun Bagan - Cummings steps up for Mariners and hits the woodwork

And with that, the referee blows the whistle to end regulation time, with the match now set to be decided through penalties.

Mohun Bagan tries potentially the last move of the game, with Subhasish crossing from the left but Ravi catches the ball yet again to put chances of another goal to bed.

The Mariners looks more desperate than ever to score now. Petratos gets the ball outside the penalty box and tries to switch play with a low cross to Manvir, whose left-footed shot is caught comfortably by Ravi.

Pulga Vidal gets the ball along the left and tries to set up Shami with a switch but the Indian winger, after beating Subhasish Bose, fails to find the net with a cross instead of a shot.

Ravi asking his teammates to go up the pitch as he kicks the ball long but it is Mohun Bagan, which gets the ball back off an Asish Rai throw-in.

Filip takes the corner kick, which flies over the box without finding any player of either side. What a poor corner kick in the circumstances!

Punjab gets a free kick after a late challenge by Abhishek and Pulga Vidal takes it. Though Mohun Bagan gets the ball out of danger, Punjab holds onto its possession and earns a corner after Asish Rai kicks the ball out of play.

This match has seen everything - a penalty, goals from outside the box, strikes from super-subs and quick counter-attacks. Is there more goals in this or is this going into the penalty shootout is the most important question now.

Mohun Bagan tries to attack through another set-piece, with Asish Rai delivering a long ball into the box, which lands safely into the gloves of Ravi.

Mohun Bagan has exhibited unbelievable never-say-never attitude here, coming back into the game not once but thrice now. What a team, what an attitude!

Liston Colaco delivers another cross from the left, trying to set up Cummings but this time, the Australian is marked too tightly to move.

Mohun Bagan’s super-subs in action again! Manvir receives a cross from the left and heads it down for Jason Cummins, who chests the ball and rattles the net to make it all square.

In: Shami, Melroy , Out: Lhungdim, Nihal

Mohun Bagan’s free-kick is blocked by Punjab FC’s wall as the team in blue goes for a quick counterattack, with Vidal trying to set up Nihal on his left. This time, however, Kaith intercepts on time.

Punjab FC attacks on the counter, with Filip carrying the ball into the final third and crossing to Pulga Vidal on his left. Vidal gets the ball and beats Asish Rai, shooting the ball past Kaith to get the lead back.

Mohun Bagan looks ready to make the final gear-shift, as it gets Dimi Petratos ready to take the pitch. He replaces Alberto Rodriguez.

Colaco tries the extraordinary from the left, with a right-footed curler, which curls past the net without causing much worries for Punjab FC as the score remains level at 2-2.

Vidal turns provides within minutes, setting up Filip in the centre, who receives the ball with his first touch and then, right in front of the box, shoots a bullet of a hit to restore parity in the game. What a match we have in our hands today!

Ezequiel Vidal tries another left-footed and this time, the ball travels closer to the net. Kaith was fully stretched for a save but the ball did not dip.

Meanwhile, Punjab replaces Majcen with Bakenga. The Norwegian forward joined Punjab this summer after a stint at Cypriot side Apollon Limassol.

Liston Colaco makes a run into the box and goes down too softly after contact from Lhungdim. Colaco appeals for a penalty but the referee is not interested at all.

Nihal gets the ball off Majcen along the left and he tries a Brockhorst from the midfield, trying a curler, which flies way past the target and he raises his hand in apology for the rash shot.

Vidal, who was subbed on by Punjab in the second half, tries a long ranger with his left foot. But the ball flies over the net, causing no troubled for Vishal Kaith.

Punjab attacks through a quick counterattack, with Filip setting up Nihal in the box. He shoots, forcing a save by Vishal Kaith.

Sahal delivers a through ball, after receiving a pass from Abhishek, and sets up Manvir to his right, who draws Ravi to his near post and shoots with his right foot, into the left-bottom corner.

Mohun Bagan and Punjab have both made changes in the second half. 

MBSG changes, In: Subhasish Bose, Manvir Singh, Jason Cummings , Out: Dippendu Biswas, Greg Stewart, Suhail Bhat

The players of Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Punjab FC take the field, with the Mariners introducing Manvir Singh and Jason Cummings off the bench.

A late equaliser by Mohun Bagan saw the defending champion restore parity in the Durand Cup 2024 quarterfinal against Punjab as the score remains 1-1 at the break.

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Colaco carries the ball along the left flank and leaves it for Greg Stewart in front of the box and he shoots, with the ball rolling into the net after a slight deflection off Suhail Bhat.

Mohun Bagan tries to stretch Punjab with wide passes and somehow, keeps possession of the ball as Punjab continues to press higher and higher up the pitch.

Colaco continues to be the usual architect for attacks as he carries the ball into the box and crosses the ball between two blue shirts, trying to set up Suhail in the middle. But Suhail is marked really well by Ivan as the Indian forward fails to get the right contact of his boot on the ball.

Mohun Bagan is caught chasing shadows against as Leidong gets a through ball from the midfield and runs into MBSG’s final third, and tries a late cut back, which is caught and hoofed out of danger by Vishal Kaith.

Mohun Bagan decides to go with a tricky approach using set pieces, with Colaco running into the final third, along the left flank, and setting up Sahal, who tries to chip it over the goalkeeper. But Ravi gets to the ball effortlessly.

As the match resumes after the first water break, it is Punjab which is continuing its charge in the Mohun Bagan half, trying to look for spaces, trying to double the lead. 

Greg Stewart tries another set-piece attack for Mohun Bagan with a cross from the left but Ravi Kumar has the gloves firmly stuck to it, putting any chance of an equaliser to bed.

Colaco gets the ball along the left, passes to Sahal, who tries to set up Stewart on the far post but his cross is hoofed away by Punjab’s defence.

Majcen gets a through ball along the left flank and darts into the final third. He tries to set up Nihal in the box with a cut back but Mohun Bagan’s defenders track back on time to intercept the ball.

Mohun Bagan is looking to stretch Punjab’s defence with passes along the flanks and has an overwhelming possession of 67 percent. But as it stands, Punjab is in front, thanks to the goal by Luka Majcen. 

Colaco gets a pass from the right, he cuts into his right, makes a step over and tries a right-footed curler which just goes wide.

Punjab tries to attack through another set piece. It’s free-kick, followed by a cross in the centre, is intercepted by Aldred. But the linesman had the flag raised by then and Kaith is furious with the lack of discipline by the MBSG defence.

Luka Majcen steps up for the penalty and sends the goalkeeper to the other side, finding the top-right corner. And Mohun Bagan trails 0-1.

Vinit Rai barges into the box, receiving a pass from Majcen but he is fouled by Alberto and the referee points to the spot . Penalty to Punjab FC!

Just after Punjab clears a through ball from Mohun Bagan’s right flank, Nihal tries to attack on the counter. But Dippendu Biswas makes a crucial interception.

Greg Stewart takes a corner kick, which is headed down by Aldred from the far post. But Punjab eventually clears the ball out of its penalty box.

Mohun Bagan tries to attack with a switch using a long ball from the left-back position to the right. Ashish receives it but fails to make the best of it. Though Molina applauds the development from the sidelines.

Greg Stewart takes the free-kick, with the lobbed ball finding Alberto. However, his header is too high to create any trouble for the PFC goalkeeper.

Majcen and Alberto goes for the ball together and the former fouls the Spaniard, with Aldred coming in to demand a free-kick, along with some heated conversation with the Slovenian.

Punjab is maintaining a disciplined four-man defence and just when Sahal looked to pull strings in the final third, a blue shirt intercepts the final ball to stave off the danger.

Mohun Bagan looks to have kept a strong bench ready, with Manvir, Cummings and Manvir there. It might be a strategy for a late surge in the second half.

Meanwhile Mohun Bagan’s Suhail tries to latch onto a back-pass off Punjab FC but PFC’s goalkeeper gets to it first.

Mohun Bagan looks to drag Punjab FC out of its half to start a counterattack, with Aldred testing the waters in the midfield. 

Mohun Bagan tries to start an attack from the midfield but Liston loses the ball in the midfield and as Punjab tries to advance the ball forward, Nihal is pushed by Asish, with former bleeding early on. 

After brief medical assistance, play resumes with a free-kick for Punjab FC, which ends to nothing. 

Greg Stewart gets the ball rolling in this quarterfinal clash. Mohun Bagan starts with a 3-4-3 formation while Punjab is playing in a conventional 4-3-3 shape, with Majcen as the leader of its attacking line.

As the travelling fans settle down at the JRD Tata Sports Complex Stadium, the layers take their position on the field. Mohun Bagan starts from left to right and Punjab starts from the other side.

The players of both teams walk out of the tunnel, with Mohun Bagan playing in its home kit of green and maroon while Punjab starts in blue.

“Now is the stage of the competition where you play one match and you win it. It’s not easy. They [Punjab] have a good squad. We have been watching their matches against Kerala Blasters and Mumbai City FC in the Durand Cup.”

- Jose Molina, Mohun Bagan Super Giant head coach

The Mariners were supposed to finish its group stage with the Kolkata derby, against arch-rival East Bengal, on August 18 but the match was abandoned, owing to lack of adequate security. 

As a result, the both teams were given a point each, with Mohun Bagan qualifying as the Group A topper.

Punjab FC, on the other hand, qualified as one of the best second-placed teams, but has yet to lose match in the tournament, with two wins and a draw so far.

Read the full preview below:

Durand Cup 2024: Mohun Bagan SG continues bid for title defence, faces Punjab FC in quarterfinal

The winning team between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Punjab FC facing the winner of the final quarterfinal between Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC, later in the day.