After two forgettable outings, Karim Bencherifa’s boys have finally opened their account in the I-League, scoring a much-awaited victory in their third match of the championship on Monday. Mohun Bagan came out of the doldrums, scored two goals, and secured a scratchy but effective win against Viva Kerala at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan.

Snehasish Chakrabarty and Manish Majthani scored the day’s two goals as Bagan walked away with a 2-0 victory and three welcome points.

After an uneventful first half, Snehasish struck seven minutes into the second half. The goal came courtesy a blunder from Viva Kerala custodian EC Sharath. The goalie failed to properly clear a Surkumar Singh shooter, and Snehasish pounced on the ball, hitting it home before the goalkeeper could recover. And then in the dying minutes, substitute Manish sealed the deal for Bagan, cleverly tapping in after Edeh Chidi gave him a through.

Viva Kerala’s performance was far below impressive. They appeared to have banked far too much on their sole foreign striker Reuben Senyo, and the Ghanaian himself only flattered to deceive. At the end, the Bagan defence went largely untested, and it showed on the result. Snehasish, the one who set up the match for the green-and-maroons, was picked Man of the Match.