The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Mohd Sporting win I-league; to join Bagan, East Bengal in ISL
COMEBACKS ARE tough when you’re 133 years old but Mohammedan Sporting achieved theirs on Saturday when they confirmed their first ever promotion to the Indian Super League – becoming the second club to do so since promotion to the top division was opened last year.
Mohammedan achieved their promotion by winning the I-league title on the penultimate day of the second division championship, beating Shillong Lajong FC 2-1 on the road. Before the game, Mohammedan needed a solitary point to ensure that Sreenidhi Deccan couldn’t catch up to them in the remaining games.
Alexis Gomes put Mohammedan Sporting in the front in the first minute of the game itself before the home side's Douglas Tardin restored parity in the 15th minute. Evgeni Kozlov scored the decisive goal for Mohammedan Sporting in the 62nd minute.
With the win, Mohammedan Sporting have secured 52 points from 23 matches with one game left to play. They are eight points ahead of second-placed Sreenidhi Deccan (44 points from 22 matches). Sreenidhi Deccan cannot catch Mohammedan Sporting even if they win both their remaining matches.
The Kolkata side's road to the I-league title was made easier after NEROCA FC held Sreenidi Deccan FC to a 1-1 draw on Thursday. Mohammedan, the third of the Kolkata clubs, which had finished runnersup in the 2021-22 I-league season, had come into Saturday's match after a 1-1 draw with Inter Kashi. They had been unbeaten for the last 10 matches before Saturday.
If Mohammedan Sporting are found to fulfil the Indian Club Licensing Premier 1 criteria, all three Kolkata legacy clubs (East Bengal FC, Mohun Bagan Super Giant) will once again be reunited in India’s topmost league.
It is a re-unification of the three clubs that’s been long overdue. Through varying periods of India’s history, all three of the Kolkata clubs have enjoyed their periods of highs and lows. Mohammedan’s best though was always reserved for the Calcutta Football League, where they won 14 titles, and were the runners up nine times. Eight out of those 14 titles were won between 1934 and 1948, with an incredible run of seven titles out of a possible eight between 1934 and 1941.
Curiously though, Mohammedan have never won a top-flight league title. The best they could come up with were league title wins in the NFL 2nd division, I-league 2nd Division and I-league (Indian football’s current second division). But they have laid hands on the Federation Cup, the Durand Cup as well as multiple IFA Shields. Now with a return to the Indian Super League, the third Kolkata club once again renews its lineage of Indian football in its first division.