Category: News | Views | Bagan Blues !

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 He dropped down to a more withdrawn role, ran up front when needed.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

 

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?

 

Mohun Bagan wins AFC away match

Mohun Bagan wins the away game against Colombo FC without any difficulty. Bagan,without the service of key players, played well. Colombo FC kicked off the ball.

Bagan got the first chance in the 5th minute but Prabir cross was foiled and Bagan got a corner. Yusa corner got Souvik Ghosh whose cross went to Kean and Duffy but they failed to score from 4 yards.

Bagan almost conceded a goal as a Colombo weak shot got past Shilton, but fortunately there were no Colombo players to convert the opportunity into a goal.

Soon Bagan scores. Duffy got hold of a ball in Bagan midfield region in 16th minute, he moved from right flank while Prabir moved into Colombo box. Duffy through found Prabir who lofted the ball towards far post and Kean made no mistake in converting that into a goal (1-0).

In the 27th Colombo almost scored from a corner but the ball went out.

Soon, Souvik tried to push a ball for Kean, the ball was intercepted by Colombo player, who gave it to their Nigerian midfielder in 30th minute , whose solo run had beaten Bikramjit junior, and his shot towards far post expectedly beaten Shilton (1-1). Yes Debjit was rested.

In 36th minute Kean was injured. He was later substituted by Jeje.

Both the teams got few opportunities. In the 68th minute Bikramjit had unnecessary foul and good booking.

In68th minute, Yusa was fouled, Sehnaz took the freekick – ball was cleared but then Bagan kept pressing hard and then Sehnaz got a ball when Colombo defence tried to save an Anas attempt. Sehnaz power shot made it 2-1.

The teams will face again in Kolkata on 7th February.

Mohun Bagan pips Chennai

(Image Courtesy: Hindustan Times)

Mohun Bagan managed to secure three points today after they defeated Chennai City FC by 2-1. Jeje and Sony scored for Mohun Bagan today.
However, Bagan did miss Anas’sservice today. Edoardo’s weaknesses were exposed as he failed to manage Marcos. Marcos almost scored twice in the first half, and actually scored past Edu in the second half. Edu was found crawling in a failed attempt to stop Marcos.

Three players had positive runs for Bagan today, Sony, Shubhasish and Debjit. Pronay and Pritam still managed to create some opportunities, but Souvik and Yusa were way off the match. Sony missed a penalty today, and a Jeje goal was cancelled as the assistant referee felt he was offside. Howevwr Sony helped Jeje scored the equaliser, and later scored the winning goal on individual attempt. Prabir , who came as a sub , failed to score from 4 yards. Bagan missed many more opportunity to score.

Coach keeps on saying that he needs performers to.make it to the playing XI, it will be interesting to see how he uses Yusa, who performed well three years back.

Performance improved. Duffy, Jeje score a brace against Minerva

Mohun Bagan secured three vital points after the team got past Minerva Punjab FC by 4-0. Duffy and Jeje scored two goals each. Both of them missed few chances and failed to get the first hattrick of the tournament.

Bagan started with Jeje and Duffy upfront, Sony from left, Yusa from right and central midfield with Souvik and Pronay.

Subhasish was back in the team after a match suspension. Edu donned the Bagan jersey for the first time. Anas and Pritam were there along with Debjit.

Sony, Pritam and Edu had some misses , one of Sony’s shots hit the bar, Pritam shot went wide, Balwant who later came in place of Duffy had few misses as well.

However the coach will have to work upon the positions and overlapping of Edu. There were two instances where Edu’s mistakes could have been costly.

However, Subhasish, Anas and Pritam did well today. Pronay has improved a lot and did not commit unnecessary fouls today. Souvik needs to play as per his ability now. It will be interesting to see what instructions coach gives to Yusa to make him lethal like Sony, Yusa so far has failed to become lethal and sharp and has been easily stopped by opponents. His passes also were stopped comfortably.

Bagan will be going to Chennai to play the next game on 21st January.

(Image Courtesy: OneIndia)

Duffy back in action

Mohun Bagan wins the second game of the iLeague after Darryl Duffy scored one goal each in each half to become Hero of the Match. Duffy’s goals were apt and showed his attitude within the box. He also played well on the right side and made quite a few moves.

Bagan had a new defense today and Souvik Ghosh came back to starting XI after a long gap. However Kingshuk and Anas did well to ensure Lajong does not find goals. Debjit also saved two goals. Pritam did well to overlap and come down and defend.

Sehnaz led the midfield well, Souvik also made the midfield compact , but he missed few opportunities. Raynier played for Bagan for the first time and was quite impressive.

Balwant and Duffy created some panic in the box, and for the second goal Duffy scored when Balwant was blocked.

However, Yusa still has opportunities of improvements.

However, Rowan continues to show the worth of Indian referees. Duffy once was fouled inside the box, which any “good and able” referee will mark as a penalty, but Rowan gave foul against Duffy. Once a clear throw in was given against Bagan. Yusa and Duffy were fouled many times and Rowan ignored.

The only decision where Rowan was right was perhaps booking Pronay after Pronay fouled a Lajong player unnecessarily.

Rowan , like most other Indian referees was filled with lots of errors, however it was not sure if the errors were intentional or Rowan was really not a quality referee, like most other Indian referees.

Refereeing unchanged

Government of India’s demonetisation drive has no impact on Indian refereeing. This was seen in the first iLeague game in Barasat stadium when referee denied Aizawl FC clear penalty and even did not warn a player after he hit Aizawl player after scoring an equalizer.

Indian refereeing  remain unchanged in the second iLEague game in Barasat stadium. Duffy fouled on the edge of the box- no foul; Yusa in scoring position – given offside, Subhashish got marching order for a foul not even worth a booking… the saga continues.

However referee failed to stop Bagan from securing vital 3 points. Bagan won 1-0. Balwant scored the all important goal, and Indian football’s farce saw a Churchill Brothers player getting a player of the match award.

Bagan could have increased the margin but Duffy, Yusa and Souvik missed from 6 yards each. However Kingshuk and Pritam’s understanding needs to be improved.

Players who stole hearts of the spectators include Souvik, Anas, Prabir Das.

Yusa, Kean , Sehnaj played well, however will have to improve in future. Duffy played as withdrawal forward and needs to improve as well. It was a pleasure to see Balwant back in action.

Overall a good match inspite of extremely poor refereeing.

 

 

Mohun Bagan wins Federation Cup

Mohun Bagan wins Federation Cup for the record 14th time. Mohun Bagan beat Aizawl FC 5-0 in the Federation Cup final. All 5 goals were scored in the second half.
Scorers – Sony, Dhanachandra, Jeje(2), Bikramjit

Jeje was adjudged Man of the match.

Pic courtesy – Mohunbagan Gorbo

Mohun Bagan 2-0 Mumbai FC

Mohun Bagan got past Mumbai FC by 2-0. Yusa and Sony scored for Mohun Bagan. There were series of misses. Sony alone missed two open nets, Jeje couple, Yusa’s shot hit the post – Glen missed one – otherwise the scoreline would have been better for the league toppers.

However, couple of things are of worries, With Brandon out, U-22 is a bit of concern.

U-22 – Bagan coach can opt for Sarthak Golui in place of Pronay to start with. Pronay can come as a sub later.

Refereeing continues to worry. Recently shameless refereeing was seen in the North East. Even the refereeing in today’s match was poor. Wrong decisions, ignoring fouls, denying penalties indicated that the referee was instructed that points to be shared which would benefit other teams in the title race. Needless to say, refereeing in upcoming matches will be similarly murky.

 

Today Bagan supporters wore masks of Chief Coach Sanjay Sen to protest against AIFF’s shameless decision to keep him away from the field.

Bagan’s next game will be in AFC Cup against Yangon.