Tiddim Road Athletic Union (TRAU) rode on a clinical first-half performance to steam past Mohammedan SC 4-0 here on Friday and move up the Hero I-League table.
Bidyashagar Singh became the first Indian to score a hat-trick in this season as his goals coupled with a Phalguni Singh strike in the first half led the Nandakumar-coached side to an easy win over their opponents, in a match where TRAU hardly seemed to be in danger of losing.
TRAU had scored three goals in the first half and topped off their attacking prowess with one goal in the second half.
Although Mohammedan SC had an opportunity to go ahead in the 4th minute when Vanlalbiaa Chhangte was denied by Amrit Gope from close range, the Black Panthers played catch-up for much of the first half to a superior TRAU.
The Manipur-based club dominated possession and chances created. Their attacking pedigree in front of goal finally seemed to kick-in as they took their chances a stark difference from the first phase of the season where TRAU lacked finishing despite creating opportunities.
The breakthrough came in the 29th minute for TRAU when Tajik import Komron Tursunov's free-kick earned an erroneous save by goalkeeper Shubham Roy. Phalguni Singh latched on to the loose ball and slotted home with ease to hand them a solitary goal lead.
While the first was a defensive error by Mohammedan, the second was the sheer brilliance of Bidyashagar Singh in the 39th minute.
Two goals in a matter of minutes seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Black Panthers and the killing blow came in the 42nd minute when Bidyshagar Singh was put through on goal with a well-weighted through-ball.
In the 65th minute, Komron Tursunov found Bidyashagar Singh inside the box with a cross.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor