A GLORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT
Mohammedan SC made a historic return to the ISL after winning the I-league for the rst time in its history.
It has been a long journey but Mohammedan SC — the second oldest football club in the country — is back in the top division of Indian football. After 10 years, it earned a promotion to the Indian Super League by winning the I-league for the first time in its history.
Once Sreenidi Deccan dropped points in Shillong to relegated NEROCA, Mohemmadan needed just a point to clinch the title in the same city a day later. The Black Panthers needed less than 60 seconds to get on the scoreboard when Alexis Gomez pulled off an audacious chip from over 40 yards. While Lajong equalised 15 minutes later, Mohammedan marked the special day with another stunning goal, courtesy of Evgeny Kozlov, who rifled in a left-footer from outside the box.
Next season will be the first time that the ISL sees three Kolkata maidan football clubs — Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal and Mohammedan SC — which could provide a much-needed fillip to the league.
Mohammedan had to bide its time to have its moment under the sun.
“This is a very significant day for Mohammedan Sporting. We have been able to re-establish ourselves as a national-level club by qualifying to the ISL. As a first step towards regaining our status in the national format, we qualified for the I-league in the 2020-21 season after doing well in the qualifiers. That was the start of our journey, which concluded in such a fantastic way,” said Dipendu Biswas, the club’s secretary.
Biswas also praised the team’s head coach Andrey Chernyshov for the club’s revival in recent years. The Russian led the club to runner-up finishes in the I-league and Durand Cup in 2021-22. He left in 2022 and returned to the club for a second spell last September. He finally got over the line this year with a winner’s medal.
“We are not a hugely invested side but have the commitment and the spirit to achieve it. The players have remained committed to the cause. Chernyshov’s coaching acumen gave the necessaery guidance and direction to the team to achieve the target," said Biswas.
TRAU was the second club to be relegated after Aizawl FC’S win over Churchill Brothers late last month. TRAU then followed it up with a shock victory over third-placed Real Kashmir with a 99th-minute stoppage-time winner.