Liston Colaco struck a brace as 10-man Mohun Bagan Super Giant beat Mohammedan Sporting 3-1 to begin their Durand Cup campaign at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Thursday.
Despite going down to 10 men in the 43rd minute after Apuia received a straight red card for retaliation, the record 17-time champions Mohun Bagan dominated the proceedings through goals from Colaco (23rd, 90+5) and young Kashmiri striker Suhail Bhat (63rd) who later appeared to suffer an ankle injury in stoppage time and had to be taken off the field.
Mohammedan Sporting's only goal came via Ashley Koli in the 49th minute as he pounced on a rebound after Lalthankima's shot was parried by Vishal Kaith who wore the captain's arm band.
Colaco opened the scoring with a sublime free-kick before the momentum briefly swung Mohammedan's way after the sending-off of Apuia.
But, the Mariners held their nerves and snatched the lead.
Liston's clever run and through-ball found Suhail, who struck on the second attempt to restore the lead.
Late into stoppage time, Liston converted a penalty to complete his brace after he was fouled by Mohammedan captain Pukhrambam Dinesh Singh inside the box.
The win will bring relief to Mohun Bagan after their recent 2-3 defeat to arch-rivals East Bengal in the Kolkata derby, albeit with a developmental side.
The Mariners are missing foreign recruits and head coach Jose Molina, who are expected to arrive in the second week of August. They were guided by interim coach Bastab Roy.
Earlier, in a tightly contested Group D clash in Kokrajhar, Assam, local side Bodoland FC registered their first win of the tournament with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over debutants Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC.
Karbi Anglong struck first through Nigerian forward Joseph Mayowa Olaleye (25th minute), but Bodoland responded swiftly with an equaliser from Gwgwmsar Gayary in the 37th minute.
Colombian striker Robinson (60th) calmly slotted home at the hour mark to secure all three points for the local side at the SAI Stadium.
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