Barreto celebrated his first appearance since the historic win against rivals East Bengal by scoring a goal from penalty in a Friendly match against WBP. With a classy hattrick from suraj Mandal Mohun Bagan brushed aside WBP 6-0 on tuesday afternoon. A few days earlier, Barreto was injured and missed almost a month of the season. However he seemed extremely fit and well this afternoon, firing home a low shot from penalty.

 Chiddi and Sueoka also poached a goal each after the 1st interval. The flood of goals opened up somewhat after the 1st interval as Bagan scored 2 goals but after the second interval Suraj added 3 more to Bagan’s tally. The final score read 6-0.

It was a very straightforward win for Bagan. Bagan’s goal-hungry season continues.

Mohun Bagan continued their winning spree in the Calcutta League when they beat tenacious Mohammedan AC by a solitary goal earlier today at
home. It was a hard earned victory, with Chidi Edeh scoring the winner with about five minutes remaining of normal time. With this, Mohun Bagan have now won all six matches in their current campaign, this being their fourth 1-0 win. Chidi has now scored in the last five
Calcutta League matches, including single goals in the last three 1-0 victories. The importance of this player in this regard cannot be overstated.

Mohammedan AC themselves were unbeaten in their previous five matches, and put up a spirited display in order to maintain that record. And they almost succeeded in holding the home team at bay. Though their attacks were few and far between, their midfield and defence toiled tirelessly. With a bit of luck and a bit of gamesmanship, they frustrated Mohun Bagan’s efforts for almost the entire length of the match, only to be beaten in the end by the juggernaut that Chidi is proving to be this season.

Mohun Bagan, for whom coach Karim Bencharifa was at the helm again after his brief sojourn to Singapore, went into the game with virtually the same starting line-up from their previous encounter, with the only change being Subho Kumar’s inclusion in place of Mickey Fernandes in midfield. Right from the start the home team went on the offensive, forcing a corner and a free-kick just outside the Mohammedan AC box within the first five minutes, but nothing much came off those. Then in the tenth fullback Biswajit Saha crossed the ball dangerously from the left, but Chidi was foiled by an alert Mohammedan defender.

The game drifted somewhat thereafter. Already the Mohammedan players started wasting time at every given opportunity, and weak refereeing encouraged them even further, with their keeper (former Mohun Bagan reserve Raju Ekka) once taking almost three minutes to take a goal kick! Then in the 18th minute another fine cross from the constantly overlapping Biswajit found central defender Sagram Mandi in the box, but his firm header was well saved by Ekka. Five minutes later Soubhik Chakraborty dribbled his way into the Mohammedan box and was apparently tripped therein, but the referee didn’t acknowledge the appeals for a penalty.

In the 27th minute, a Subho Kumar free-kick found Chidi but the Nigerian headed wide. Three minutes later Subho sent in a teasing corner kick from the right, Ryuji Suoeka rose and headed superbly, but the ball hit the cross bar! Off the rebound Sheikh Azim hit a pile- driver, but it went well over the bar. A couple of minutes later Suoeka sprinted after a Chidi through and scored, but the goal was disallowed for off-side! Then in the 40th minute, another Subho Kumar corner from the right was well headed by Chidi, only to hit the cross- piece. The goal simply refused to come! And to compound Bagan’s troubles, Soubhik was booked for no apparent reason two minutes from half-time. He’ll now miss Bagan’s next Calcutta league match. The teams went into half-time at 0-0 – this was the first time in six matches this season that Bagan failed to score in the first half.

The second half started like the first, with Mohun Bagan putting on the pressure, but with Tomba Singh having a rare off-day, and with Ishfaq Ahmed proving ineffective, the attacks were just not penetrative enough to beat the hard-working Mohammedan defence. Three minutes into the half Chidi did slip in a delicious chipped pass for Ishfaq, but the latter failed to beat the keeper. In the 55th minute Ishfaq was brought down outside the box. Suoeka took the resultant free-kick, and found Ishfaq, but he headed it wide. Four minutes later, another Suoeka free-kick found Chidi, but again the header was too weak to beat Ekka. In the 62nd minute Ishfaq sent in a splendid cross from the left, but Chidi for once failed to reach the ball.

Twenty minutes into the 2nd half Mohun Bagan made two changes, with Branco Cardozo coming in for Ishfaq and Snehasish Chakraborty for Subho Kumar. Within minutes Branco tried a back-volley to a cross from the left but misconnected. Then Suoeka was fouled inches outside the Mohammedan box, but the resultant free-kick, taken by the Japanese himself, was fruitless. A minute later Tomba crossed superbly from the right, but Chidi headed wide from close! This was probably the easiest chance of the day.

Bagan kept up the pressure relentlessly. With about 15 minutes to go, Snehasish sent in a good cross from the left, but this time Branco’s header hit the outside of the left post and went out. Then Tomba put in another cross from the right, but Branco failed to direct his header goalwards. Then in the 80th minute a Snehasish cross produced astrong header from Chidi, but Ekka saved well.

With 8 minutes to go, young Subhojit Majumdar replaced Soubhik and made a couple of strong runs down the right flank, but his efforts came to nought. Then in the 86th minute a free-kick was floated into the Mohammedan box and was deflected towards the goal. Both Suoeka and Ekka went for the ball, but the keeper only managed to slap it away in front of an onrushing Chidi, who blasted the ball in from close with glee! At last the deadlock was broken, and who else but Mohun Bagan’s goal machine to break it! (1-0). This was Chidi’s 7th league goal of the season, in six games!

There was hardly any action of note for the rest of the game, including 4 minutes of added time, though Mohammedan did make some effort to equalise. However, Zenith, Sagram, Azim and Biswajit held firm and easily foiled their bids, as they had done throughout the match, whenever called upon to do so. Behind them, Shilton too seemed efficient and confident.

The game ended with Mohun Bagan firmly on top of the table with 18 points from 6 games, 5 points ahead of 2nd placed Chirag United, who have a game in hand. Chidi was named the Man-of-the-Match.

Team: Shilton Paul; Zenith Mashangwa, Sagram Mandi, Sheikh Azim, Biswajit Saha; Tomba Singh, Subho Kumar (Snehasish Chakraborty), Soubhik Chakraborty (Subhojit Majumdar), Ishfaq Ahmed (Branco Cardozo); Ryuji Suoeka, Chidi Edeh.

Scorer: Chidi Edeh.

Man-of-the-Match: Chidi Edeh.

Mohun Bagan beat George Telegraph by a solitary goal to maintain their all-win record in the 2009-10 Calcutta League. However they had to overcome a spirited display from George in the second half to hang on
to the lead given by Chidi Edeh late in the opening half. With this win, Mohun Bagan, with 15 points in 5 matches, consolidated their position at the top of the table.
Mohun Bagan was on the offensive right from the start, forcing their first corner in the 2nd minute, but after a scramble, Zenith’s effort failed to trouble the George custodian. 2 minutes later, a Chidi header went wide. Then George counter-attacked, giving first indications that they would not let Bagan do all the playing on this
day, but failed to get past the Bagan defence.

In the 9th minute, another corner ended in Chidi taking a snap shot, just missing the target. George attacked almost immediately, but Mandi and Azim were strong in the heart of the Bagan defence. The game continued in this to-and-fro manner for a while. Within the next ten minutes, three Mohun Bagan attacks came to nothing, as first Souvik failed to connect from close, when he might have been tripped, warranting a penalty, perhaps. The referee thought otherwise. Soon afterwards a Suoeka effort hit the side netting and finally Ishfaq fumbled Chidi’s headed flick-on from a long Shilton kick. In between, George too attacked whenever possible, leading to an exciting, open game.

In the 24th minute, Tomba attempted a bicycle kick in the box from a Chidi cross, but just failed to connect. Then Chidi was fouled badly by the George left back, who was booked. Slowly Mohun Bagan were stamping their authority in the match, but the George defence toiled hard and held firm.

From the 35th minute till the end of the first half, Mohun Bagan played probably their best football of the match. It was all started by a superb solo run from Suoeka cutting in from the right and beating several players, but Ishfaq just failed to reach his pass. Another Suoeka run created another opening a minute later, but there was nobody at hand to score!

Then in the 37th minute came a moment of Chidi magic. Tomba picked up a loose ball and found the Nigerian in the edge of the George box. Chidi swivelled promptly, eluding his marker and unleashed a terrific right-footer low and hard – a diving George keeper got his left hand to the ball, but such was the power in the shot that it deflected into the net! (1-0).

In the 39th minute Ishfaq floated in a good ball in the box and this time Suoeka went for a flamboyant bicycle kick, but misconnected. 2 minutes later Chidi hit another right footed pile-driver, which was superbly parried by the George keeper. The ball bounced back, and Suoeka tried to head it in, but the ball just went over. Then in the 45th minute another Bagan attack found Souvik in possession just outside the box. He looked up, saw the keeper out of his line and chipped delightfully over his head. Alas, the ball went fractionally over the bar. There was time for another Chidi shot, but that was blocked, and Bagan went into half-time one ahead.

The second half saw some determined football from George Telegraph, practically right till the end. They came hard at Bagan, looking for the equaliser. They did leave space behind for Bagan to counter-attack, and the home team duly obliged, creating a few half chances of their own. The first few minutes of the 2nd half saw a up-and-down contest, much to the delight of purists.

Here young Mandi stood like a rock in the Bagan defence. He was ably assisted by Azim, Zenith and Biswajit, and also by the teenager Souvik, who once again exhibited his wonderful work-rate and undoubted potential. Shilton was safe and confident in goal whenever called upon to come to the rescue. But it was Mandi who made most of the important tackles and interceptions to keep the George forwards at bay.

Bagan’s first meaningful attack of the half came in the 10th minute after resumption, when Mickey and Tomba combined well to find Chidi, but the hard-working George defenders thwarted Chidi’s effort. Then on the hour mark Ishfaq ran in brilliantly from the left to unleash a right-footer which went just wide of the far post. This was to be Ishfaq’s last action of the match, as he was replaced by Snehasish almost immediately.

Then in the 62nd minute Azim collided with George’s African striker and lay supine on the field for a long time, causing some anxiety to the Bagan faithfuls. However, he soon shrugged off his discomfort and resumed playing. Soon thereafter Tomba sent in a beautiful cross from the right, but somehow the ball was scrambled away.

George continued pressing, and 25 minutes into the 2nd half, they had the ball in the Bagan net. However, the goal was disallowed for infringement. Then Mickey Fernandes, who was having probably his best game for Mohun Bagan, was replaced by Lalramluaha. This led to more control of the midfield for George, and Mandi and company had to work really hard to keep them away. Then in the 77th minute, Lalram gave away a needless free-kick just outside the Bagan box. The strong Abiola sent in a hard kick over the wall, but Shilton collected confidently.

Then Bagan shrugged off the George pressure and went into attack. Suoeka earned a free-kick just outside the George box, but Tomba’s shot went wide. Then a delightful Suoeka-Chidi combination almost got Bagan their 2nd goal. Suoeka got the ball near the halfway line on the left and found Chidi with a wonderful lobbed cross. Chidi controlled the ball with skill and elan, and beat his marker to sent in a swerving cross into the box. Suoela rushed in with great speed but was just foiled by the keeper, who fisted the ball away. In the 85th minute, Snehasish finally went into one of his now customary left flank runs, causing panic in the George defence, but his pass fell between Suoeka and Chidi, allowing George to clear.

George counter-attacked with determination, but Mandi again came in with a timely tackle. The resultant clearance found Suoeka, but his effort went just wide. Then Lalram ran in beautifully from the right and entered right into the box. Lalram should have passed to an unmarked Biswajit, who had quietly stepped into a wonderful position; instead he went for glory himself, but his feeble shot from an acute angle was easily saved by the keeper.

There were 5 minutes of added time, mostly owing to Azim’s earlier injury, and Shubho Kumar made a brief appearance in place of Lalram. There was another anxious moment in the Bagan box, when Abeola found himself in an excellent position but the George striker hit the ball out.

The match ended soon thereafter, and Sagram Mandi was named Man-of-the- Match, which underlined his superb display in the game, but also recognized George Telegraph’s attacking performance, for which they have to be commended. Still, one has to congratulate Mandi and his youthful fellow defenders to have passed their first real test in the current campaign with considerable credit. Congratulations to Mridul Banerjee, too, for winnig his first ever game in charge of Mohun Bagan.

And one last word on Chidi, he now has 21 goals in 20 games for Mohun Bagan. The Goal Machine marches on!

Team :Shilton Paul; Zenith Mashangwa, Sagram Mandi, Sheikh Azim, Biswajit Saha; Tomba Singh, Souvik Chakraborty, Mickey Fernandes (Lalramluaha-73, Subho Kumar-93), Ishfaq Ahmed (Snehasish Chakraborty-60); Ryuji Suoeka, Chidi Edeh.

Goal – Chidi-1.

Man-of-the-Match – Sagram Mandi