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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 in Kolkata 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 into 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.
Jamshedpur hand East Bengal fourth defeat
A clinical Jamshedpur FC beat East Bengal 2-0 to hand the Kolkata side their fourth straight defeat of the season in the Indian Super League (ISL) in Jamshedpur on Saturday.
Rei Tachikawa scored in the 21st minute to give Khalid Jamil's side the lead. In the second half, an own goal from Lalchungnunga (70th minute) sealed the deal for the Men of Steel.
Jamshedpur FC started the game on a high. In the fourth minute, a delightful cross from Imran Khan fell to Jordan Murray inside the East Bengal penalty box. However, Lalchungnunga came to his side's rescue to avert danger.
In the 11th minute, East Bengal earned their first positive chance. Provat Lakra sent in a fine through ball to Madih Talal, who went past Stephen Eze only to see his shot go wide.
Three minutes later, Talal could have got his name on the scoresheet. His mis-kick fell into Cleiton Silva's feet, who gave it back to the French midfielder. However, Talal's shot was too feeble to trouble Albino Gomes.
In the 21st minute, it was Rei Tachikawa whose long-range strike gave Jamshedpur FC the lead.
Eleven minutes later, Silva could have salvaged his side's equaliser. Nandhakumar Sekar had laid it on the plate for Silva, who had only Albino Gomes to beat, but the Brazilian forward hit it over the roof.
East Bengal started the second half well. Just two minutes from the restart, Nandhakumar found himself free with only Eze to beat. He dribbled past the defender and laid it off to Talal, whose feeble shot fell to Gomes.
Jamshedpur FC then went on to double their lead in the 70th minute to take complete charge of the game. A shot from Imran Khan was turned into his own net by Lalchungnunga.
Yet, East Bengal had enough chances to come back. A cross from Crespo from the left channel of the penalty box fell to Hector Yuste, whose header flicked the crossbar in the 73rd minute.
In the 83rd minute, Talal could have brought one back for his side, but his long-range effort was parried away perfectly by Gomes with his fingertips.
Jamshedpur FC next play Hyderabad FC at home on October 21. East Bengal FC's next match will be the Kolkata derby against Mohun Bagan on October 19.