Mohun Bagan 2-1 Mahindra United

So many optimism before the game, so many positive comments on our players coming of age. And yes, team Mohun Bagan did what it does best – wins 2-1 against Mahindra United. Karim Bencharifa’s men came from a goal down in what was a pulsating first leg tie between the country’s best bets for the iLeague this year. The visitors equalized from a Marcos goal and later had a comfortable win with Sueoka scoring the winner. Bagan is now having 20 points from 11 matches, same as Mahindra United. Mahindra (+13) retains the top spot and Bagan(+10) might have to wait couple of rounds to place itself at the top.

  Bagan was in an attacking mood right from the word GO. In the 2nd minute Bagan earned a free kick. Marcos took the shot. But Subhasish was alert and collected the ball well.

In the 7th minute of the match Paresh shivalkar went out and Thoi singh replaced him. And within two minutes Md. Rafi scored for Mahindra. Steven Dias crossed a ball from the right, Shilton fumbled and and Rafi headed the ball into the goal(1-0).
 
for next 15 minutes Bagan defense got shaken. At this time Mandi foiled a Mahindra attack while Shilton missed a Muritala header and the woodworks saved the day for Bagan.
Bagan slowly started taking control of the match as Sueoka and Ishfaq started moving from the two flanks. In the 25th minute Sueoka cross a ball for Barreto but Barreto failed to reach near the ball. For next 10 minutes Marcos and Sueoka started building up the pressure on Mahindra defense that started looking fragile. In the 32nd minute Sueoka crossed a ball for Barreto who failed to convert it to a goal. subhasish collected the ball well.
 
Soon Mahindra started rebuilding its defense and Pradeep did well to stop Marcos runs. This was the time when Bagan midfield took over the control – Ishfaq, Marcos, Kulothungan and Sueoka created lot of opportunities. In the 42nd minute Thoi singh was replaced by Kalialauddin.
 
In the 45th minute Ishfaq collided with Subhasish. Muritala came from nowhere and started reacting. Players from both the teams lost their temper. Later Muritala was booked.
 
Post lemon break both the teams started playing attacking football. In the 52nd minute in-form James replaced Tomba. This gave Bagan an edge. His movementsz from the right created panic in Mahindra defense. In the 58th minute Barreto got the ball in side the box, and Subhasish had to fist his shot back to the box. Marcos got the control of the ball and placed it well (1-1). In the 59th minute Surkumar was booked. In the 65th minute Sueoka headed from a James center. The header was right on target and Subhasish did well to save it. Kulothungan crossed the ball from left and Marcos had to push the ball in. But he missed this opportunity.
In the 70th minute Ishfaq made a brilliant cross from left – and Subhasish did well to save it for the Jeepmen.
 
In the 76th minute Biswajit moved from the left flank and crossed the ball for Sueoka. sueoka goes all out and his header got past Mahindra defense into the goal (2-1).

For next 15 minutes Mahindra went all out and shilton stood rock solid beneath the bars. He foiled couple of shots on target. Sagram and Azim also consolidated and made it impossible for the Jeepmen to score the equalizer.
 
Scorers :
Mohun Bagan :Marcos 58′, Sueoka 76′
Mahindra United: MD. Rafi 9′
 
M.O.M : Sueoka
 
Mohun Bagan : Shilton, Surkumar, Sagram, Azim, Biswajit, Tomba (James 52′), Marcos, Kulothungan, Ishfaq, Barreto, and Sueoka.
MU: Subhasish, Tamba,Ravanan, Sushant Mathew, Debabrata, Pradeep, Ajayan, Paresh (Thoi Singh 7′, Kalialauddin 44′), Steven Dias, Md. Rafi, and Muritala.

Barreto classic caps 5-0 win against Air India

The post Uttarayan – and Barreto gives a nice gift to the Mohun Bagan supporters. It came two days late as the scoreline reads Air India 0 : Mohun Bagan 5.

 It was an unforgettable outcome on an afternoon the Mariners produced a great performance in absence of a list of players namely Sangram, Deepak, Manju, mohanraj, Masih and Chidi. James was out soon as well.


Bagan(17 points) has returned to the top sport fight at the end of this match chasing Mahindra (20 points), Dempo, Chirag and Churchill (17 points each). Furthermore they will bolster their rank within top 3 if they win the next match against Mahindra.It was all Mohun Bagan right from the word GO, and in particular Jose Bareto, who bossed the attacking third in absence of Chidi Edeh.
 
In the 5th minute Marcos almost scored but Arnab did well to fist the ball away. In the 9th minute Ishfaq and Biswajit exchanged the ball and Biswajit’s final pass was safed by Arnab. In the 12th minute Sur Kumar cross the ball for Ishfaq from 35 yards. AI defenders averted the move – otherwise Ishfaq was in a scoring position.
 
In the 23rd minute Ishfaq earned a corner. Marcos took the shot. The ball was getting into the goal -and Khelemba Singh went for a goal line save. In the 27th minute Bagan earned a free kick. Surkumar’s 35 yards free kick was getting into the goal before Arnab fisted the ball out.
 
In the 38th minute Tomba replaced injured James. Jaes was injured in the 21st minute when he collided with Ibrahim.
 
As far as AI supporters were concerned Harpreet was the villain just before the end of the first half as Ishfaq Ahmed was tripped down inside the box in 45th minute. Barreto made no mistake in converting the penalty to a goal (1-0)

In the 47th minute Bagan earned a corner as Harpreet headed a ball out. Marcos took the coner – Ishfaq header was saved by Arnab and Barreto got the ball. He made no mistake in pacing it into the goal(2-0)

In the 58th minute Sueoka got a ball and gets into the box from the right flank. He was close to the near post and his minus found Kulothungan. Kulo placed the ball to the far post and Barreto makes sure he does not get into the line (3-0)

In the 62nd minute Bagan earned another corner. Marcos took the shot and another outstanding Ishfaq header found Barreto and Barreto header went past S. James who tried to save the ball with his hand (4-0).

In the 69th minute Azim was in the central part of the ground and his through found Barreto who got into the box, been chased by two Airmen and Arnab, the custodian. Barreto tried to push the ball past Arnab but somehow Arnab managed to hold it with his legs. Barreto snatched the ball from Arnab and from almost Zero Degree placed it inside the box(5-0)

In the 73rd minute Nabeel hit Shilton and earned a booking.

In the 79th minute Banco replaced Barreto. In 86th minute Santa Kumar replaced Ishfaq.

In the 89th minute Santa made a brilliant move from left flank. His cross found Branco who failed to control the ball.

Team : Shilton, Surkumar, Sagram, Azim, Biswajit, James(Tomba), Marcos, Kulothungan, Ishfaq(Santa), Barreto(Branco), Sueoka

Chidi injured – to miss Air India match

Mohun Bagan fans will be anxiously awaiting further news after Chidi have been forced to withdraw from the game against Air India.

 The Nigerian striker was seriously injured in the team’s practice today. He had already made an impact in the season, scoring goals in almost every match he played for Bagan. Chidi is unlikely to be fit for Bagan’s week-end fixture against Air India, and it now remains to be seen whether he will be able to take part in Bagan’s next match against Mahindra United on 21st January ’10.