AFC Media Team

BHUBANESWAR: Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh came back twice to secure a hard-fought 2-2 draw with India’s Mohun Bagan Super Giant of India in Group D of the AFC Cup™ 2023/24 tie on Tuesday. 

The result meant Mohun Bagan have a three-point lead at the halfway stage of the tournament with Bashundhara second, one point ahead of India's Odisha FC. 

Mohun Bagan started the brighter of the two sides with Sahal Abdul Samad flashing his shot from just outside the box off target following Dimitri Petratos’ set up in the 15th minute before Brendan Hamill saw his effort from inside the box in the 27th minute saved by Bashundhara keeper Mehedi Hasan Srabon.

Mohun Bagan’s constant pressure finally paid off just before the half hour mark with Hugo Boumous supplying a cross which Jason Cummings cut back for Petratos to slot home from inside a crowded six-yard-box.

Bashundhara responded in the 33rd minute through Dori, who timed his run well to receive Robinho’s through ball before surging into the area and slipping the ball past Mohun Bagan custodian Vishal Kaith.

The goal spurred the visitors as they came close to doubling the lead a minute later with Boumous finding space above the six-yard-box only to see his curled effort denied by the crossbar.

Mohun Bagan tried to force their way through in the final minutes of the half but Glen Martins, Miguel Figueira and Asish Rai all wasted their efforts.

Both teams upped the tempo after the restart with Cummings setting up Colaço, only for the forward to be flagged offside, while at the other end, Dori almost broke the deadlock in the 48th minute when he hit the bar from inside the area.

Mohun Bagan reclaimed the lead in the 54th minute through Rai, who was played through by Petratos’s well-timed pass following a neat build-up.

Didier Brossou and Rakib Hossain both came close to equalising for Bashundhara but the Bangladesh side’s perseverance was rewarded when Robinho drew a foul inside the six-yard-box 10 minutes later, and then stepping up to slot home.

The two teams will meet again on November 7 with Bashundhara hosting Mohun Bagan at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka.

Big win for Odisha FC

India’s Odisha FC revived their AFC Cup™ 2023/24 campaign with a 6-1 win over Maziya Sports & Recreation of Maldives on Tuesday.

After defeats to Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Bashundhara Kings, Odisha finally got points on the board in Group D, thus keeping their hopes of progression to the knockout stage alive.

It was a flurry of action from the opening whistle with Odisha needing only three minutes to take the lead, Lalthathanga Khawlhring scoring on the half-turn, after Mourtada Fall had won a header from a corner kick.

Maziya, however, caught their hosts by surprise in the 13th minute from a corner kick of their own, Branimir Jocic meeting Hamza Mohamed’s delivery with a looping header that caught Odisha custodian Amrinder Singh off guard.

The equaliser only lasted two minutes as Odisha retook the lead with Carlos Delgado producing an incredible headed goal, stretching every sinew in his neck to guide the ball past Hussain Shareef from an Ahmed Jahouh free-kick.

The Kalinga Warriors went on to increase their lead in the 19th minute when Delgado turned provider, setting up Fall for another headed goal to give Odisha a comfortable lead.

After a breathless end-to-end start to the game, the match endured a calmer period and it was only after the half-time break that the intensity picked up once again.

Maziya went close to reducing the gap in the 48th minute when the dangerous Hamza created space by cutting in from the left but his goal bound shot was pushed out by Amrinder.

Instead, it was the home side who would score again 10 minutes later, with Maziya's failure to deal with yet another corner set-piece allowing Amey Ranawade to score with a glorious long range curler into the bottom corner. 

Isak Vanlalruatfela made it 5-1 in the 62nd minute, finishing from close range after Diego Mauricio had beaten the offside trap to square the ball to his teammate with Sahil Panwar scoring the sixth in added time to cap the resounding win.

The two teams will meet again on November 7.