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Full time: Mohun Bagan 1-0 Punjab FC: Babacar Diawara's first-half header wins the game for the Mariners. Mohun Bagan is now nine points ahead of second-placed Punjab. Mariners' dominance at the top continues with five wins in the last six games!
90+1' - Naorem makes for Britto in Bagan's final change of the evening.
90' - Four minutes have been added on here. Can Punjab cause an upset here?
88' - Jesuraj comes on for Bagan with two minutes of regulation time pending.
87' - Girik's shot from inside the box goes wide after it takes a deflection. Punjab is awarded a corner-kick, which is headed into the hands of Sankar by Danilo.
83' - SAVE! Kiran blocks Beitia's shot through his legs after Naorem started the move from the left flank with his pace and precision.
82' - Dicka shoots over! This is the second time Dicka has fired the shot over the bar. This time, Anwar found him with the delivery in the box. Meanwhile, Bagan custodian Sankar has been booked for time wasting.
80' - 10 minutes to go and so far it's the goal from Diawara which has been the difference between the two teams. Can Bagan retain its lead?
76' - Tursunov is being taken off, Shilton comes on. Tursunov had a great game for Bagan, one of the best players on the field today for the host.
74' - CHANCE! Tursunov's sensational cross from the right is headed towards the far post by a diving Suhair but it misses the target by a whisker.
71' - Anwar Ali heads the corner-kick from Pradhan but it goes off target. Punjab makes the final change meanwhile as Girik comes on for Cavin.
68' - Another change for Punjab: Texeira replaces Kingsley.
67' - Tursunov's cross from the right side is played wonderfully for Suhair at the other end. However, a poor first touch means Suhair ruins the chance to get close to goal.
60' - GOAL DISALLOWED! Fran Morante's goal has been called off after the referee claimed it was offside. The linesman did not initially bring up the flag. The late decision has caused the Bagan fans displeasure. Morante had flicked home from close range, off a free-kick from Beitia.
57' - Ashutosh makes a run on the right flank and whips a cross for his player in front of goal. Danilo, however, clears.
52' - CHANCE! Tursonov's cross from the right is chested down by Diawara before taking a low-kept shot. Punjab custodian saves it at the near post but that was a good move by Bagan!
49' - OVER! Dicka shoots over the bar from very close distance after Pradhan found him in the box with a through pass. Chance wasted by Punjab to draw level!
45' - Second half begins. Thoiba has been replaced by Gagandeep by Punjab.
Half time: Mohun Bagan 1-0 Punjab FC - Diawara's header keeps Bagan in the lead at the break.
42' - GOAL! Babacar Diawara heads home from a throw-in to bring the Mariners in the lead! A long throw-in by Dhanachandra is first kept down by Diawara before he heads it into the net to make it Mohun Bagan 1-0 Punjab.
39' - GOAL-LINE CLEARANCE! Danilo clears the ball off the line after Suhair headed from close range. Diawara set up Ashutosh on the right, who fired a cross into the box from the right.
38' - A poor header from Diawara following a Tursunov cross hardly tests the Punjab goalkeeper. It's still 0-0.
31' - CHANCE! Barboza beats Beitia on the left wing with his pace before he squares the ball for Dicka at the near post. Dicka is marked closely by Fran, who clears out the ball. Dicka gets into a scuffle with his former club's players.
30' - The half-hour mark has been crossed. No goals yet at the Kalyani stadium so far. Thoiba has looked good for Punjab, while Naorem and Diawara of Bagan are trying to bring the Mariners up.
25' - CLOSE! On the counter, Punjab attacks through the flanks. Thoiba rushes in from the right wing before sending a cross to Pradhan in the center. Pradhan takes a shot from distance which just misses the net! That might have taken a deflection off a Mohun Bagan shirt.
22' - Chance wasted by Punjab. Thoiba, from the right flank, fires a cross at the other wing but the delivery is poorly delivered because it lands away from any Punjab player.
20' - Free-kick to Mohun Bagan as Beitia takes the set-piece from distance. His fine delivery is cleared for a corner-kick. The corner-kick too is taken by him, and headed over the bar.
17' - Naorem cuts inside the box from the left side. His cross is played in front of goal for Diawara but the ball comes off Diawara's arm, which makes the referee blow the whistle for a handball.
12' - CHANCE! Diawara with a golden opportunity to bring Mohun Bagan in the lead as he has the ball in the box but Punjab defender Nirmal closes him down.
4' - The ball is played into the box for Diawara but Kingsley clears out the danger.
2' - Ashutosh is fouled by Shadap, which gives an early free-kick to the home side. Beitia takes the set-piece as he aims it for Fran but Fran flicks it over the bar.
1' - Kick-off! Mohun Bagan vs Punjab is under at the Kalyani Stadium.
Line-ups
Mohun Bagan XI: Sankar Roy, Fran Morante, Ashutosh Mehta, Komron Tursunov, Babacar Diawara, Joseba Beitia, Nongdomba Naorem, Suhair VP, Dhanachandra Singh, SK Sahil, Fran Gonzalez.
Punjab XI: Nirmal Chetri, Danilo Azevedo, Anwar, Cavin Lobo, Sergio Barboza Jr, Sanju Pradhan, Kiran Limbu, Thoiba Singh, Samuel Shadap, Dipanda Dicka, Kingsley Eze.
Match preview by Amitabha Das Sharma
Mohun Bagan will host a rejuvenated Punjab FC in a top of the table clash of the I-League at the Kalyani Stadium on Sunday.
Currently leading the chart with a healthy six-point lead over its nearest challenger, Punjab FC, Mohun Bagan (on 23 points from 10 outings) will be looking to consolidate its position going into the second phase of the tournament.
For the visiting Punjab side, the challenge will be tougher as it cannot afford to lose more points and further slip behind the league leader. The team from Ludhiana made some gains in the transfer window earlier in the year by signing a handful of players, notable among which is former Mohun Bagan defender Eze Kingsley.
“This is a nine-point game for us. We need to win and bring the gap to three points. A draw will also not satisfy us, “ said Yan Law, the Punjab FC head coach.
Mohun Bagan picked up momentum after a shaky start and has secured four wins in its last five games to lead the table by the half-way stage. The home team has every reason to be upbeat but Spanish coach Kibu Vicuna sought to be wary ahead of the meeting with Punjab FC.
“Punjab is a good team and they are combining well thanks to some great individuals in their team. It is going to be a tough match but we are ready for the challenge,” Vicuna said.
Mohun Bagan is likely to miss defender Daniel Cyrus, who is out with an injury, but Vicuna hoped that his team will able to retain the shape that fetched it wins the last three outings.
Match details
Mohun Bagan vs Punjab will be broadcast live on 1Sports , with online streaming available on the Fancode app and website.
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