Mohun Bagan beat Vasco today 3-0 in an I league match held in Barasat Stadium. Ishfaq, Barreto and Manju scored the goals for Mohun Bagan. Mohun Bagan now has 40 points from 20 matches. They will play their next I league match against Dempo on March 12th. Tomorrow coach Karim has given day off from practice. Saturday practice is at 8.30 am and Sunday at 3 pm.

                        Mohun Bagan today defeated Vasco 3-0 in an I league match held in Barasat Stadium. Ishfaq, Barreto and Manju scored the goals for Mohun Bagan. However, surprisingly it was Vasco who dominated proceedings for first 20 minutes and looked to pile pressure on the host. The team from Goa got their first corner in 2nd minute and in the next minute, Mohun Bagan had a lucky escape when due to a defensive lapse by Odafe, Nazarov got a through pass inside box and lobbed the ball nicely which took Sangram by surprise and hit the crossbar and went out. Few minutes later a cross from right side found Nazarov unmarked inside box but he headed out. Barreto was heavily marked by Vasco defence today but Barreto cleverly changed position with James Singh and started operating down the right flank and then in 11th minute Mohun Bagan got their first positive chance when Ishfaq missed the easiest chance of the match. Barreto crossed the ball from right flank which Ishfaq dived nicely to connect the ball but somehow headed the ball out with goalkeeper beaten all ends up. Manju also brilliantly headed a ball from Ishfaq center but goalkeeper fully stretched to his right to make a timely save. In 30th minute, this time it was Dipak from whose center Marcos made a diving header which beat goalkeeper but hit the post. Apparently, it seemed Marcos could have opted for the option of taking a shot but indeed the attempt was a good one. Mohun Bagan was pressing hard and scored the first goal in 42nd minute. Baichung got a loose ball in midfield, ran a few paces, saw unmarked Barreto and gave a well measured pass towards the latter in the right flank. Barreto took the ball, got past one player, paused for a second, looked up to see the position of his fellow strikers inside box and then brilliantly chipped the ball that curled and went straight to Ishfaq. Ishfaq timed the header to perfection that went to far corner of the net, thus Mohun Bagan went 1-0 up. The scored remained same in halftime.

                                         

ISHFAQ MISSES AN EASY CHANCE; HOWEVER, HE SCORED THE FIRST GOAL OF THE MATCH IN A SIMILAR MANNER (SEE BELOW)

PICTURE COURTESY: www.the-aiff.com

PICTURE COURTESY: www.bartamanpatrika.com

The initial 10 minutes of the second half belonged to Vasco who had more possession of the ball. Rakesh Masih was not in his usual good form today and Karim made a brilliant change by bringing on Lalkamal in place of Rakesh in 54th minute and Mohun Bagan again came back strongly in the match. Lalkamal had a great match today and his inclusion resulted into great dividend for Mohun Bagan. In 55th minute, Lalkamal gave a pass to Ishfaq who in turn released the ball from left that Baichung headed down for Barreto but his shot went wide. In 60th minute, this time the center came from right side via James-Habibur combination but due a misunderstanding between Ishfaq and Barreto, the chance went begging. Mariners scored their second goal in 62nd minute. Baichung gave a brilliant through pass to Barreto who was equally efficient in his task and went past Vasco goalkeeper and cool headedly finished by taking a right footed shot and making it 2-0 in favor of Mariners. Karim then brought in Branco in place of Barreto in 65th minute. In 70th minute, from a Lalkamal corner, Baichung leaped well to head the ball but again it was Vasco goalkeeper who saved by fisting the ball over the bar. In 74th minute, Ishfaq made a solo run and got inside box but then he was clearly tripped by Vasco defenders (replay showed there was no contact with the ball) but surprisingly referee gave the decision in favor of Vasco. In 81st minute, Mohun Bagan got a corner kick, Lalkamal took a short corner and Marcos curled the ball in for Manju who nicely connected the ball via his right foot to push it inside goal making the scoreline 3-0. In 82nd minute, Ishfaq who also had a great match was exhausted and replaced by Lalampuia. Few minuts before final whistle, Branco gave a pass to Baichung who slightly fumbled and the ball was cleared for safety. The match ended with Mohun Bagan winning 3-0. A big surprise came with the decision of Man of the Match. Vasco goalkeeper got the award which surprised many, it should have been given to Barreto, Ishfaq, Baichung or Lalkamal.

                        

 

BARRETO ON THE WAY TO SCORE THE 2ND GOAL

PICTURE COURTESY: http://bangla.ganashakti.co.in/

After the match in press conference, when asked if Mohun Bagan still has a chance to win I league, Karim said, "Unfortunately the ball is not in our court now. We will definitely have to win the next 2 matches and will try to put pressure on Churchill. In football anything can happen. Last year, I missed the title by a whisker and the team which I was coaching, Churchill, fumbled in the last 2 rounds." Karim praised the fight put up by Vasco saying "Definitely Vasco played well, especially in 1st half. They are already relegated but still for spirit of game they played well. I hope all the teams do this and not only for their own interest, but for the sake of true spirit put up a fight in all the matches." He also commented, "Definitely my players are under a lot of pressure and playing in Kolkata is a big pressure as whereever they go, they are always hearing one thing – You have to win all the matches. Today in 1st half, few players looked a little stiff, nervous and was making mistakes under pressure." When asked about his team’s goal average, Karim said, "I have no complaint about the goals missed, they are part and parcel of the game. I am happy that team has collected 3 full points from this match." On his preparation for AFC cup, he said, "Now we will have to think about the AFC cup. Last two matches in AFC cup we played well but unluckily lost both the matches. We proved that we can match those teams."

                                                         

FILE PICTURE OF MANJU REACTING AFTER SCORING IN KOLKATA PREMIER LEAGUE 2008

TEAM: Sangram, Dipak, Odafe, Manju, Habibur, Ishfaq (Lalampuia 82), Masih (Lalkamal 54), Marcos, James Singh Sr., Baichung, Barreto (Branco 65)
           

Mohun Bagan captain Baichung Bhutia yesterday got Mother Teresa International Award for his success while representing India. “All India Minority Forum and Weaker Section” selects celebrity from different fields for this award. Baichung is the first footballer to receive this award. Baichung said, “The award has the name of Mother Teresa in it, I am very much honored to get this.” Meanwhile, team will resume practice tomorrow at 8.30 am in morning. Mohun Bagan will play against Vasco on April 2nd at Barasat Stadium.

Mohun Bagan lost 2 vital points today against JCT and the match ended 1-1. Manju converted a Marcos corner to a goal in the 10th Min but an unfortunate mishap in the form of Rahul Kumar own goal at 80th min made it 1-1. This means Bagan will not only have to win their 3 matches in a row but will also have to wait for Mohammedan to take 2 points from Churchill in their last match.

Manju had a great game having scored one goal and made one goal line save. Ishfaq missed a very easy chance. Rakesh Masih centered from right, which Baichung foxed one JCT player and ball went to Ishfaq in open who shot wide from close distance. He chose to shot the ball in first post, but it would have been better if he chose the far corner of the post.

Mohun Bagan missed few easy chances to score, Baichung, Barreto and Ishfaq missed the chances. Rahul Kumar played very well in right half but unfortunately he was involved in the goal that Mariners conceded. Mohun Bagan went ahead in 10th minute when from a Marcos short corner, Tulunga crossed the ball in box and the ball deflected off a JCT player to Manju who capitalized on the chance and scored via his left foot, a brilliant opportunistic goal. JCT also got their chances but one attempt of Edu hit the bar post and Manju made a goal line save. In the fag end of the match, Barreto’s head hit bar post and Baichung’s head was cleared from goal line. Ishfaq was adjudged Man of the Match.

Mohun Bagan conceded the goal in late 2nd half, the right half of JCT went past Dipak and centered the ball which deflected off Rahul and went inside goal. Rahul was marking the JCT striker and in order to clear the ball went for a slide but unfortunately the ball hit him and went inside goal.

After match Karim said, "I am disappointed that Mohun Bagan lost the match. My anguish increased after getting to know that Churchill has lost 2 points. The match was a 50-50 match, any team could have won the match. Both of the teams created chances and could not score. It is hard luck that at the last moment our effort came off post. About Rahul, I can say that he had a great game but very unfortunately he was involved with the only goal that Mariners conceded."

SQUAD: Sangram, Rahul, Odafe, Manju, Dipak (Mohanraj), Tulunga (James Singh Sr.), Masih (Branco), Marcos, Ishfaq, Bhaichung and  Barreto.

COURTESY: HARIDAS GHOSH