Mohun Bagan failed to control the game till end against Dempo and ended with a 2-2 draw. Bagan is practically out of iLeague title race – and the decision to stay away from IFA Shield so that iLeague can be targeted – backfired. Key player – Odaf Okolie was injured against Dempo – and is nursing injury. Odafa would be out of the HAL game on friday, 6th April. This means – Bagan will have to focus more on sunil, Ashim and Barreto.

Bagan might have to add Manish Bhargav in the reserve bench – his absence was felt in last 20 mins of the game against Dempo. Bagan might also have Manish Maithani from the beginning. Hudson Lima can also be tested against this weak team.

 

HAL can have a formation of 1-4-3-2 with one stopper behind the four defenders and three midfielders with two strikers. Bagan can be of formation 4-4-2.

Probable teams:

HAL – Amar Deb, Chandandeep Singh, Ramesh, Gautam Debnath, Liliyan Kennath/Femi Joseph, Rohit Chand, Malemngamba Meetei, Ajit Kumar Singh, Bijoy Das/Sudheesh Muttath,  Jagaba Amaba, Vinod Kumar

Mohun Bagan –  Sangram, Nabi, Anwar, Kingshuk, Surkumar, Lima, Barreto, Manish, Jewel, Sunil, Ashim

Mohun Bagan split points with Dempo as the game ended 2-2. Credit goes to Subhasish Roy Choudhury of Dempo and Gujarat referee Vishu. Incidentally Dinesh Nair is also a referee from Gujarat! Subhasish did well to stop at least 4 goals of Odafa – while Referee did well to guard Dempo well. He did not award a penalty to Bagan – overlooked fouls and just booked Debabrata when he should have got a marching order.

Odafa could have scored 6 goals in the first half- but had to remain happy with only 2 goals. This includes a penalty shot missed by him. In the second half one of his shots was stopped by Mahesh Gowli’s hands – but referee overlooks the handball. In fact he overlooked the first penalty awarded – it was Assistant referee who insisted on the penalty and the referee and to buy it.

Ranty scored the frst goal for Dempo when Nabi handled the ball inside the box.

Later Odafa scored 2 goals and both were from his individual brilliance. In the secod half Koko scored a goal for Dempo due to mistakes by Bagan defence. 

Debabrata Roy was at his worst and had badly injured Jewel by hittin him twice. Debabrata is known for his indecent sportsmanship and today’s incidence was no different. He shoul have got a marching order and AIFF should have suspnded him for at least two matches. But referee was more interested in Dempo earning a point at least. Dempo perhaps would be ieague champion at the end of the season – and would represent India. But the teams represending India in AFC seem to be doing so by getting advantages from referees. No wonder Indi remains as a sleeping giant of World Football !

Mohun Bagan will meet Dempo sports club on 1st April. Dempo staged some drama during the practice session this morning – and there was an allegation of couple of players using abusive words against Mohun Bagan. Can Bagan match Dempo and win three points ? This will help Bagan reduce the gap with Dempo to 5 points.

Dempo might field the following team in the game – Kattimani, Debabrata, Antao, Mahesh, Samir, Clifford, Peter Carvalho, Climax, Anthony, Ranty,  Koko/Yusuke.

Bagan is the underdog in this match – particularly after the 0-5 loss against Dempo in the first leg, and a draw against weak Air India in the last game. Add to it- Bagan’s defensive midfield had been largely dependent on Rakesh Masih and Daniel Zeleny. The first one got injured today during the practice session while the second one has been released. Hence Pradeep is expected to play as the defensive mideo – and this is so far a season Pradeep would like to forget. He was never at his best for throughout the season.

However Bagan can’t afford further disappointment – the team is already lagging behind Dempo by 8 points and has lot of problems that are demotivating the players a lot. First – it was Sunil Chettry who is facing a disciplinary proceedings. The player no doubt is a professional one and definitely deserves what he is doing – but questions are arising in the supporters’ minds. Is Sunil at all giving his best? If a player is found in the Airport rushing for a flight within 2 hours of the last Darby game – the supporters may worry he was not focused and his costly misses are discussed. A repeat was done for the Air India match where again misses cost Bagan a lot!

Jose Barreto is far from his best. This is not the best year for the skipper of the Bagan team. His age has also become a factor. Barreto is slow – and has lost the touch. However he is another person like Pradeep and Sunil who will be there in the field and the supporters will wish him to show something that will make them proud.

Hudson Lima and Zewel Raja might get into the playing XI after a long gap – they might not be 10% match fit – this is another point of concern for the team.

Thus 5 key players of the central and attacking third are the weak points in the Bagan team – and one wonders how Odafa is going to get the final passes wherefrom he can score.

Bagan will have to depend upon the two side backs – Nabi and Surkumar for the long passes – and at the same time stopping Clifford and Anthony – tough indeed; particularly since Anwar continues to make mistakes and Kingshuk would have tough time guarding Ranty.

It can be a busy day for Bagan defense – and if three among Pradeep, Lima, Jewel, Barreto and Sunil give their best – the underdogs can turn the tables. The TD might also think of putting in Manish Maithani – the hard worker in lieu of either Barreto or Sunil – this would ensure a proper attacking central midfielder there in the field to pass the sitters to Odafa.

Let’s hope for the best as Bagan needs these 3 points to come back to the race of the championship.

Possible team : Sangram, Nabi, Anwar, Kingshuk, Surkumar, Lima/Snehasish, Pradeep, Manish/Sunil, Jewel, Barreto, Odafa