Mohun Bagan Super Giant are in top form right from the start of this season. The Green and Maroon brigade has won all three of its Group A matches in the Durand Cup 2026. In their third and final group match on Monday, Mohun Bagan Super Giant secured a massive six-goal victory against the CISF Protectors.
Sahal Abdul Samad scored a fantastic hat-trick to help Mohun Bagan Super Giant thrash CISF Protectors 6-0. This win confirmed their top spot in Group ‘A’ of the 135th Durand Cup. The Mariners secured their quarter-final ticket with this dominant performance at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan on Monday.
Sahal scored all three of his goals in the first half itself. Manvir Singh, Jamie Maclaren, and Tekcham Abhishek Singh also got their names on the scoresheet. Panagiotis Dilimperis’s team finished the group stage with a perfect record of three wins in three matches.
Mohun Bagan had already collected six points from their first two wins, so their quarter-final spot was already secure. On the other hand, CISF Protectors, after two straight losses, were hoping to end their campaign with at least a point, but it wasn’t to be.
A Dominant Win for the Green and Maroon Brigade
At the start of the match, the Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s defence, led by captain Mohammed Khalid, managed to resist a series of attacks for a while. In the 9th minute, Subhasish Bose tested the CISF Protectors’ goalkeeper with a low long-ranger. But the defence finally broke in the 17th minute. Dejan Drazic played a brilliant defence-splitting pass from his own half.
Tekcham Abhishek Singh ran with the ball down the right flank. His shot deflected off a defender and fell to Liston Colaco. Liston unselfishly passed the ball to Sahal, who easily scored to put Mohun Bagan ahead. Just two minutes later, they doubled the lead. Drazic received a great pass from Manvir Singh, moved up the right wing, and sent the ball in front of the goal.
Sahal made no mistake and tapped it in for his second. Mohun Bagan Super Giant scored their third goal in the 24th minute. Tekcham Abhishek’s perfect cross from the right was controlled well by Manvir Singh, who finished brilliantly. Another chance came soon after when Manvir intercepted a wrong pass and entered the box.
However, a crucial intervention by Munish Kumar saved CISF Protectors from a certain own goal. In the 37th minute, Sahal completed his hat-trick. He picked up the ball near the halfway line, beat one defender after another with incredible speed, and then sent the ball into the net with a precise right-footed shot.
Before the break, Mohun Bagan had another chance, but Subhasish Bose’s cross just grazed Manvir’s head and went wide. Mohun Bagan Super Giant had 75% of the ball possession in the first half. In contrast, CISF Protectors had only one shot, which was off target. The Green and Maroons went into halftime with a comfortable 4-0 lead.
The Green and Maroon Storm Continued in the Second Half
Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s head coach Dilimperis made four changes at halftime. Ashish Rai, Alex Saji, Kiyan Nassiri Giri, and Abhishek Dhananjay Suryavanshi came on. This meant the team on the field in the second half consisted only of Indian footballers. But the attacking storm continued. They created several chances but couldn’t increase the lead due to some poor finishing.
Manvir tried to chip the keeper but failed. Later, he headed a cross from Ashish Rai wide. Liston’s shot was also blocked by CISF defenders. Goalkeeper Rajkumar Mahato denied Manvir once again. Finally, the fifth goal came in the 68th minute. Substitute Jamie Maclaren received a superb no-look through ball from Sahal, entered the box, and coolly slotted the ball between the keeper’s legs.
The sixth goal came just five minutes later. Tekcham Abhishek Singh played a neat one-two with Liston Colaco to enter the box. His perfectly timed shot went straight into the roof of the net. Towards the end, CISF Protectors got a chance for a consolation goal. Substitute Gaurav Das had an opportunity from a cross by Jacob C, but he missed the target.
He later tested the Mohun Bagan keeper, Syed Zahid Hussain, with a free-kick. In added time, Zahid made a great save to deny CISF another potential goal. On the other end, Liston was still looking for a goal, but his first attempt went over the bar and the next one went straight to the keeper.
In the end, Mohun Bagan Super Giant finished their group stage campaign with a massive 6-0 win. They secured the top spot in Group ‘A’ with three wins from three matches and booked their place in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, CISF Protectors were knocked out of the 135th Durand Cup without a single point from three matches.