Mohammedan Sporting held Punjab FC to a 2-2 draw to end their debut Indian Super League (ISL) season without a home win in Kolkata on Monday.
The Kolkata-based team, trailing by two goals at one point, rallied in the second half to pull off a draw.
Punjab FC were ahead 2-0 through goals from Ezequiel Vidal (9th minute) and Luka Majcen (53rd) but Mohammedan restored parity through Marc Schmerbock (58th) and Robi Hansda (66th).
Mohammedan collected 13 points from 24 games, but were winless at home throughout the season. Punjab FC also ended their campaign with 28 points on the back of eight victories and four draws.
Punjab FC commenced proceedings by bringing a cohesive pattern of play to the fore. They functioned impressively, breaching past the Mohammedan midfield lines with a rapid string of passes that the home side struggled to break.
The visitors maximised that with Asmir Suljic showing impressive awareness to enter space on the left flank, before setting an instinctive squared up delivery for Ezequiel Vidal that was slotted into the bottom left corner to open the scoring in the ninth minute.
Vidal was critical to the second goal that Punjab FC netted in the 53rd minute. He cracked open the Mohammedan defence with a through pass intended for Luka Majcen at the edge of the 18-yard box.
Zodingliana Ralte attempted to make a timely interception but he ended up losing control of the pass, as Majcen jumped upon the loose ball to deposit it into the bottom right corner and double his team's advantage.
Mohammedan though grabbed command over the game immediately, as Manvir Singh launched in a sharp cross from the left flank with multiple teammates positioned extremely near to the box to latch upon the delivery and head the ball in.
An extremely crowded situation followed, with Vanlalzuidika Chhakchhuak making an important block, before Marc Schmerbock used his left foot to comfortably place the ball in the middle of the net, reducing the deficit to one goal.
With momentum swaying in Mohammedan's favour, the Punjab FC backline lost shape and Franca pounced upon that with a dazzling run, piercing past the opposition's half after picking the ball near the halfway mark.
He spotted three Punjab FC players teaming up to mark him and pulled off a well-timed pass for Robi Hansda in the 66th minute, who smashed the ball into the high centre of the goal for the equaliser.
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