Month: February 2017

Bagan moves to Group E

Mohun Bagan qualifies for Group E of AFC Cup after they defeated Valencia by 4-1 (Aggregate 5-2) today. Jeje (3) and Sony were the scorers.

Bagan took early lead when they got a penalty at the very first minute. Jeje converted it to a goal. Jeje scored his second in 43rd minute. However Bagan had series of misses in the first half.

Valencia came back to the game in 53rd minute when they were able to reduce the margin. Coach introduced Yusa and then Bagan rein in Valencia well and Jeje and Sony scored one each in the second half.

However Balwant alone missed three chances to score. Sony missed two chances , Jeje missed couple too.

 

Bagan will now play Bengaluru FC (14th March – Away & 17th May Home), Dacca Abahony (4th April Home and 31st May Away) and Maziya from Maldives (18th April Home and 3rd May Away)

 

 

Mohun Bagan 1-1 Club Valencia

Mohun Bagan failed to defend its early lead as Club Valencia equalized from a penalty in 81st minute.

Duffy gave Bagan early lead, and Balwant almost scored the second but Anas handled the in the penalty box and Valencia equalized.

The teams will meet again on 28th February at Rabindra Sarovar Stadium.

Shibaji Banerjee No More

With heavy heart, mohunbaganclub.com condoles the demise of stalwart Shibaji Banerjee, ex player, and Technical Committee member. Shibaji-da was present in the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium to watch Bagan play DSK Shivajians, and was seen accepting fans’ requests for group photos.

There is no need of introduction of Shibaji Banerjee, the goalkeeper was the icon and idol for boys of Calcutta of 70s and 80s, who would love to become a goalkeepers just like him.

The ex Bagan player was one of the key members of the technical.committee that helped Bagan to come back to the track of victories and performances in recent past.

He not only stopped Pele from scoring a goal, he won 34 trophies for Bagan, and dis not concede a single goal against East Bengal from 1977-1981. He played for 11 yeara for Bagan and was the undisputed number one goalie for the club.

Balwant Brilliance

Mohun Bagan got past DSK Shivajians today thanks to personal brilliance of Balwant Singh.

Bagan started with a careful note, with two defensive midfielders, but started losing the control of the game as DSK did well in intercepting the ball from time to time and their quick counter attack created panic for Bagan defense.

In one such attack DSK got the lead as Edu failed to clear the ball, and Pritam was clueless as DSK player Milan scored with a sprint past Bagan defense (0-1).

Bagan coach had to withdraw Sehnaz and replace him with Prabir, and this move helped Bagan get back into the game.

Yusa moved to the middle , and Pritam and Prabir started creating movements from right with Sony and Subhasis from left.
In one such movement a Pritam cross was half heartedly cleared by Subrata and Balwant header made it 1-1.

Soon a similar attack followed, and Balwant’s brilliance made it 2-1.

In the second half Balwant missed three chances to get his hat trick.

Later he was replaced with Jeje. Jeje was once pushed inside the box, and Bagan got penalty. Yusa converted the same by hitting at right of Subrata (3-1).

However, Bagan coach will have to see if Prabir can come into first XI and move Yusa to the middle. Prabir, Pritam, Pronay trio are doing well. So are Sony and Duffy with Subhasish’s support.

In fact Duffy was the man who was distributing the ball well, which helped Bagan keep control after conceding the goal.

However refereeing was extremely poor, Bagan was denied of three clear penalties. There were two occasions were Bagan players were hit off the ball directly by DSK players. But no card was shown. These types of refereeing seem to be from the same genre of Dinesh Nair’s and Santoshes which would benefit a specific team that for unknown reasons always get refereeing blessings.

Goalless Derby: A Good Game, and Better Refereeing

(Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times)

The East Bengal infested city of Siliguri saw a goalless end to the derby, with both teams actually playing seasoned and well thought out football and perhaps even better referring.

The build up to the derby was tense. East Bengal have always had the infamous knack of getting undue advantages from the referee & match officials in the past, sins unpunished, clock hands stretched and what not !

Hence, Bagan fans were prepared for the worst when to came to match refereeing, but were pleasantly surprised to see referee Srikrishna keep a good leash on the game. So kudos to the ref for that. Of course, Mehtab, Dika et al were up to their usual impish antics, but thats what they do best.

The match started off well, each team putting the other to a good test and battled for midfield supremacy. On one hand Sony Norde was kept on tight leash on the left flank, with a double marking at times, and got no space whatsoever for his down the flank runs. He of course showed his class off a few corners and passes, but today wasnt his day. On the other hand, the Bagan defensive trio of Anas, Edu & Subhashis did a great job of keeping Wedson & Plaza at bay. Tackles met tackles and tactics crossed paths.

Jeje had a sub par day at office, was perhaps struggling a bit with the uneven bounce of the Siliguri turf.The usually nimble footed Jeje seems to be losing his agility a little bit, which could be ominous signs for Indian football. Hope Jeje proves us wrong real soon !

Duffy was energetic and quite enterprising, tried a couple of solo runs but none of the moves were clinical. He dropped down to a more withdrawn role, ran up front when needed.

The first half was primarily dominated by Mohun Bagan (East Bengal did have 2 shots at goal, but were easily fended by Debjit). Bagan went really close to taking the lead on a couple occasions, especially off a corner, but EB custodian Rehnesh did an excellent job of keeping the scoreline intact. He was indeed the man of the match.

This league has seen EB start the 2nd half with a burst of energy, and Bagan did well to slow down the pace of the game at the start of the 2nd half. EB did have a few good moves, but none that really challenged the Bagan keeper Debjit, except for one occasion where Wedson had a clear shot at goal with only Debjit in front of him.

The Bagan front line lacked lustre and coach Sanjay Sen would have done well had he been a bit more courageous and brought in Balwant earlier in the game in place of Jeje. Balwant came in only in the 75th min,  and was starting to look dangerous before time ran out.

Sanjay did show a bold tactical move in bringing in Prabir Das on the right flank in place of an off color Sony and switching Katsumi to the right. This did bring in a burst of speed on both flanks.. but again, time was of essence.

Overall, it was a good game by both sides, and perhaps the score line was just reflection of the game today.

Bagan stay 2nd in the league table, with EB at top equal on points, but with better goal difference

 

Can the fans expect neutral refereeing?

Mohun Bagan has suffered a lot from refereeing , particularly some crucial matches in last few years. Incidentally not just Mohun Bagan, other iLeague clubs also were subject to refereeing errors, and it was allegedly found that only two clubs were benefited, one of them have withdrawn their team.

Dr Errol Sweeney, World Cup Referee Coach & Mentor, once said ” There are few people one can really trust in life. Among these would/should be the police, the clergy, your doctor, and one would hope, soccer referees. Sadly, while it is not very apparent, there are a few of our colleagues who are prepared to betray the trust put in them. ”

Unfortunately while likes of Zico, Robarto Carlos, the world cup winners , have criticized Indian refereeing, the referees were patted well by the football officials of the country instead of asking them to improve.

Serious questions have been raised for a particular referee and his abilities in the football ground. Questions are been raised on his biased approach towards various teams, and then when the said referee is selected for crucial iLeague matches , it is obvious that eyebrows will be raised.

FIFA or AFC should not shed their responsibilities as well. They should ensure proper anti-corruption guidelines are followed to ensure neutrality of refereeing in Indian football. Questions are been raised whether FIFA is having an eye towards the same or not.

Will AIFF have an eye on the referees ?

Mohun Bagan will play another away game this Sunday. Incidentally the fans observed that a particular team has been getting a lot of blessings from the referees this year as well. This started happening from the very first game when a player was pulled down inside the box and no penalty was given. A team gets penalty for slightest infringement and other teams are deprived of penalties for open fouls.

Last year Mohun Bagan suffered poor refereeing from a similar match – Bagan players were fouled and referee continuously ignored. There has been no improvement in refereeing this year – and one can expect that the referee might not be neutral in the upcoming game as well.

And this is where the question is for AIFF. Can AIFF take this matter seriously, or have the right intention at least to take the matter seriously? In world football refereeing has been shamed from time to time, ILeague is not an exception. Can AIFF ensure the referees are neutral? Can AIFF publish officially what calls referees who will conduct the match, get in the last 7 days (before the game), and ensure the referees are not found in close vicinity of some club officials of any team as well ? Can AIFF officially publish the income of the referees who will participate in the game and ensure there is no discrepancy in the earning of the referees?

Or AIFF will remain mum ?

Mohun Bagan moves to 2nd Round

Mohun Bagan gets past Colombo FC in the home match by 2-1. Sony and Duffy scored for Bagan. Balwant missed a penalty. Bagan defense continued to make faux pas, and conceded a goal in the dying minutes of the game.

Bagan played safe and the purpose is not to burn out. Bagan was successful on that. However there were at least two occasions when defense mistakes could have been costly. Shilton Paul expectedly conceded a goal as well.

Mohun Bagan will play Valencia in 2nd Qualifying round on 21st February (away) and 28th February (home)

Squad- Shilton, Souvik Ghosh, Anas, Balwant (Jr), Souvik C, Sony(Balwant), Pronay, Bikramjit (Sr), Yusa(Azhar), Jeje, Duffy(Raynier)

3 Goals and Several Questions.. MB 3-2 Aizawal FC

Score line reads 3-2 for Bagan. Makes it sound like a thrilling encounter. Thrilling though it was, with the score line tilting balance frequently, it did send down a few chills down the Bagan spine, and left a lot of questions to be answered for.

Bagan started off in style, with Katsumi running down the left and serving a precise cross for Duffy to score with an immaculate header as early as the 2nd minute. Both the skipper and Duffy seemed to be calming down the celebrations of their teammates after the goal, almost as if they knew what was to come.

Complacency perhaps did creep in, and the Bagan defensive line was caught at fault several times, with the 3 defenders caught in a straight line on multiple occasions when the Aizwal wingers attacked from the flanks.

Aizwal’s Jayesh Rane equalized from a such attempt, and the Bagan defenders were clearly at fault with the school boy error of everyone falling in the same line.

Aizwal continued to attack in the 2nd time with a few attempts at goal. While the Bagan wings seemed to be active with both Prabir Das and Katsumi running down the side, it was the 63rd minute when Man of the Match Prabir Das was finally able to nicely place one for Jeje to tap the 2nd goal in.

Joy was shortlived, whith Asutosh Mehta making it 2-2 in the 69th minute off a header. The defenders as well as the keeper Debjit could and should have done better.

Tempers and cards flashed, with players from both sides picking up a few cards.

Souvik came in around the 80th minute for Bikramjit, and almost immediately after fed a ball with accuracy for Katsumi, who ran down the left to be felled by the same Asutosh who had scored for Aizawal.

Penalty it was, and the Scottish marksman Duffy kept his calm to convert the penalty to finish the game 3-2 for Bagan.

Some signs didnt augur well for Bagan. The defenders lacked cohesion and are perhaps not talking to each other. Else, the defense line wouldnt have looked so disarrayed so many times. Defenders need to talk to Debjit as well. Debjit made a few bad judgment calls on few of his outings leaving the goal mouth wide open.

Bagan are now 2nd in the table, right after East Bengal, whom they meet on Feb 12th after the AFC Cup home game with Colombo FC on the 7th.

Sanjay Sen has a lot of work to do to bring the team back to what it deserves to be. Other teams may not fail to capitalize on the mistakes that the Bagan defenders made today..

Of course, we still have the 500 rupee note question – when is Sony Norde coming back?