Mohun Bagan thrash Mohammedan Sporting riding on three first-half goals

Mohun Bagan completely crushed city rivals Mohammed Sporting riding on three first-half strikes from Jamie Maclaren, Subhasish Bose and Greg Stewart in the less fancied 'Kolkata Derby' here on Saturday.

The reigning champions thus returned to winning ways before heading into the international break.

The Mariners struck first through their Australian forward Maclaren in the eighth minute. The goal came from a corner as Maclaren headed in past Padam Chhetri after Stewart glided the ball in his path.

Buoyed by the early goal, Jose Molina’s men showed exceptional drive as they pressed Mohammedan Sporting and forced them to make errors in midfield.

Mohun Bagan kept pushing for more goals as they showed impeccable fluidity between their attacking quartet of Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Maclaren and Stewart.

They were eventually rewarded when Stewart’s freekick found Subhasish in the penalty area. The experienced defender came up with a thumping header to double the lead for the hosts in the 31st minute.

Five minutes later, the provider turned scorer when Stewart won possession in midfield and drove the ball forward. The Scottish midfielder found space to run into Mohammedan Sporting’s final third before he found the bottom left corner with a vicious effort.

Mohun Bagan's next match will be the eagerly awaited clash against arch-rivals East Bengal on October 19.