Mohammedan Sporting took the early lead thanks to captain Marcus Joseph's great long-range strike before Azfar Noorani equalised for Mumbai Kenkre at the stroke of half-time.
Churchill Brothers have had a disappointing start to the season, scoring just two points from their five matches. In their previous outing against Aizawl FC, they were held to a 1-1 draw after leading for most of the game.
In a thrilling edge-of-the-seat encounter, Mohammedan raced into a two-goal lead through Nikola Stojanovic and Faslurahman Methukayil, but Faysal Shayesteh's free-kick ensured that the hosts trailed by one goal at the break.
The result saw Andrey Chernyshov's Mohammedan Sporting rise to sixth place in the standings with six points. TRAU, on the other hand, has slipped to the seventh position with four points.
The home side, however, struck twice in the last 10 minutes through a Marcus Joseph penalty and some individual brilliance by Faslurahman Methukayil to seal the three points.
Mohammedan travelled to face strong oppositions in the shape of Gokulam Kerala and RoundGlass Punjab in the first two rounds, losing 0-1 on each occasion. Andrey Chernyshov's side found themselves trailing after just three minutes against RG Punjab in Panchkula on Sunday and, despite dominating possession for much of the contest, could not find a way back
The hosts will be looking to build on their 2-1 victory against Sreenidi Deccan FC in the opening round while on the other hand, Mohammedan will seek their first win after going down narrowly (0-1) against champions Gokulam Kerala FC on the inaugural day of the new season.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced earlier that the Roadmap for Indian Football, as approved by the Asian Football Confederation in October 2019, after consultations with the ISL and I-League clubs, the AIFF and its marketing partners. As per the Roadmap, the winners of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 I-League seasons will stand a chance to gain promotion to the ISL without any participation fee, basis the fulfilment of the club licensing criteria
The first ever Indian winners of the Cup, MDSP took the lead in the 38th minute of the first half through Faslu who scored his second of the tournament and then added two in three minutes of the second, through Abhishek Halder and Sk. Faiaz respectively to secure three points.
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