I-League 2021: Danish Farooq, Mason Robertson score as Real Kashmir end season with win over Mohammedan SC

Kalyani: Real Kashmir FC ended their I-League campaign with a 2-1 victory over Mohammedan Sporting at the Kalyani Municipal Stadium on Thursday. Danish Farooq (34th minute) and Mason Robertson (51st) scored for the Snow Leopards while Pedro Manzi pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute for the Black Panthers. With this win, Real Kashmir ended their campaign in fifth place, accumulating 21 points from 15 games. Coming on the back of a 0-1 loss to Punjab FC, Real Kashmir tried to take an early lead by starting on the front foot. Although the Snow Leopards hurled bodies upfront in order to capitalise from long balls, it was their opponents Mohammedan Sporting that had the first real chance of the match. In the eighth minute, Pedro Manzi went for a goal from outside the box. His effort, albeit well hit, was saved easily by the opposition goalkeeper. Five minutes later, Mason Robertson found himself in the thick of the action when a long ball found the towering defender inside the box. Robertson, although clinical in the air, lacked the accuracy to guide the ball home as the Black Panthers survived a dangerous spell of play. The stalemate was broken in the 33rd minute courtesy of a corner kick. Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte’s corner kick met the head of Danish Farooq who thumped the ball home from close range. Real Kashmir could have found the net again in the 48th minute had Adnan Ayoub not skewed his shot wide of goal, after combining for a one-two with Danish Farooq. However, it was only a matter of time before the Snow Leopards struck again. In the 51st minute, Mason Robertson scored from the penalty spot after a rash tackle had prompted the referee to point to the spot, as Real Kashmir doubled their advantage. Even after Shankarlal Chakraborty had made an attacking change, bringing on Faisal Ali, at the start of the second half, the Black Panthers seemed to lack creativity in the final third. All of that changed with the substitution of Tirthankar Sarkar. In the 72nd minute, Sakar’s corner found Pedro Manzi, who thumped the ball home from close range.