A goal each from Jose Barreto and Baichung Bhutia helped Mohun Bagan to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Chirag United in the i-League at Yuva Bharati Krirangan on Saturday evening. Both the goals were scored in the first half to ensure an emphatic finish for the Kolkata Premier League champions.

 Mohun Bagan secured an emphatic victory over Chirag United today by 2-0 in an I league match held in Kolkata. Displaying sheer dominance right from the start, the Karim Bencherfia boys never gave any chance to United SC and made it a no-contest, banging in both the goals by 30 minutes at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan (YBK) at Salt Lake here today. The old magic of Barreto and Bhaichung Bhutia did honours for Mohun Bagan who thus registered six wins the trot, with their first one coming against reigning champions Dempo SC, which the Brazilian had termed as the "turning point" in their I-League turnaround.

A short corner from Marcos Pereira set up Mohun Bagan’s first goal in 14th minute, as Malswamtluanga floated the ball into the box and a lurking Barreto leapt high and did not have to produce a powerful header but deftly he put it across the opponent’s goalkeeper for Mohun Bagan to go 1-0 up.

 

 

In 30th minute, Baichung scored the 2nd goal, one of the best goals of this edition of I league. Tulunga got hold off the ball in the midfield and passed it to Lalkamal whose through pass was brilliantly chested down by Barreto. Barreto lobbed the ball decieving one defender and came up with a fine and well-calculated back header which was found by Bhutia. From the side volley, Mohun Bagan captain produced a sharp right footer which was enough to deceive United SC custodian Gopal Das. A brilliant goal resulting from the Baichung-Barreto combination.

 

 

In the first 45 minutes, the mariners negated their opponents’ left flank, rendering winger Snehashish Chakraborty useless. Right-back Habibur Rehman man-marked Snehashish, leaving the winger with no room to operate. Chirag coach Subrata Bhattacharya was forced to effect a couple of changes in his side as early as in the 33rd minute — R. Dhanrajan for Subhashish Roy Chowdhury and Shankar Oraon for skipper Lalmalswama Hamar after Mariners went ahead by 2 goals.

The second-half was just a regulation play for Mohun Bagan who dropped in the intensity, already assured of three points from their good work in the first 45 minutes.  As expected, Chirag started playing rough football, and Barreto and Rakesh Masih were injured. Later Barreto, Masih and Marcos were booked by the referee. Rakesh Masih will miss the next match against Mumbai FC when I league starts after break on January 23rd, the match will be played in Mumbai.

Striker Shankar Oraon squandered two relatively easy opportunities towards the end of the match. First, he shot straight to keeper Shilton Paul just three yards from the target off a Gouranga Dutta corner. Moments later, Gouranga again set it up from the right and on this occasion too, Oraon headed wide. Mohun Bagan got a easy chance on injury time of 2nd half when Marcos positioned nicely with the ball outside Chirag box but his shot went over bar post.

Barreto was adjudged Man of the Match. With today’s victory, the Green-and-Maroon brigade retain second spot of the table with Sporting Clube de Goa at the top and now has 18 points from 11 matches.

Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Stadium will host only the two semifinals and final of the Federation Cup. According to an All India Football Federation release, the minor changes in the fixtures of the December 4-21 tournament were necessitated due to non-availability of the stadium before the semifinals, slated for December 18. The final will be held on December 21. All group matches will now be hosted by Barasat. Mohun Bagan will play their matches on December 12, 14 and 16 against Oil India, Vasco and Air India respectively.

SHILTON, HABIBUR, ODAFE, VASHAN, MOHANRAJ, TULUNGA, RAKESH, MARCOS, LALKAMAL (ISHFAQ 72), BAICHUNG (LALAM 81), BARRETO (JUNIOR JAMES 88) 

PICTURE COURTESY: BARTAMAN PATRIKA, TRIDIP, SOUMYADEB SINHA

 

 

 

 

 

Baichung brilliance ensure 3 points for Bagan. Mohun Bagan defeated Mahindra United by a solitary goal scored by captain Baichung Bhutia in th 46 minute off a Lalkamal Bhoumik pass. Mohun Bagan currently stand 2nd in the I-League standings, while Mahindra languish deep down. Marcos was named Man of the Match for his brilliant performance.

Mohun Bagan defeated Mahindra United 1-0 today in an I league match held in Salt Lake Stadium. Baichung scored the winning goal in 46th minute of the match. The match was very exciting and a fast paced one with Mohun Bagan dominating proceedings.

Mahindra started the match in a positive note and first 10 minutes completely belonged to them. In 2nd minute, Pradeep got the ball inside Mohun Bagan’s 6 yard box but his shot went wide. In 8th minute, Mohun Bagan made their first positive attack when Baichung gave the ball to Tulunga in right flank but the latter could not pass the ball back to Baichung who was waiting inside box. Mohun Bagan then slowly started controlling the game and in 12th minute from a Odafe long throw, Tulunga took a shot which deflected off Mahindra defence and went to Barreto whose shot was cleared for corner. In 15th minute, Sangram made a costly error when he missed flight and Sushil took a shot which was saved from goalline by Odafe. In 18th minute, Barreto after a solo run took a dipping shot from about 20 yards out but the ball just went over bar post. In 27th minute, from a Marcos corner, Lalkamal’s head went out, he could have done better as he was standing unmarked in the box.  In 32nd minute, from a Steven Dias free kick, a misunderstanding took place between Odafe and Manju, Sushil got the loose ball and took a shot which was saved by Sangram. In the very next minute, Lalkamal lobbed the ball inside box towards Barreto but he could not get hold of the ball as Tamba, the new foreigner for Mahindra, covered him nicely and allowed the ball to go to goalkeeper. In 40th minute, from a Marcos corner, Tulunga gave a pass to Barreto who missed an easy chance to score with goalkeeper at his mercy. Just before lemon break, Masih chest trapped the ball nicely and it went to Baichung who took a shot but it was very well defended by Pradeep and cleared for safety. Mahindra played better during initial part of the half but then Mohun Bagan came back strongly in the match due to great play by their midfield.

Mohun Bagan went ahead in the very 1st minute of the 2nd half. Marcos got the ball in midfield and gave a pass to Tulunga in right flank who took a low center that went to Lalkamal in left who in turn took a shot that went towards Baichung inside box.  Mahindra defenders could not clear the ball properly and Baichung who was standing with his back towards the goal brilliantly turned and took a low left footer which went into far corner of the post with goalkeeper having absolutely no chance to save the ball, a brilliant execution indeed from the captain. Mahindra coach then made 2 changes in quick succession bringing Chiddi and Paresh. In 56th minute, from a Marcos center, Baichung tried a bicycle kick but could not connect the ball. In 58th minute, Mohun Bagan was denied a penalty when Barreto was clearly tripped inside the box by Debabrata Roy but referee completely ignored the incident. In 62nd minute, from a Tulunga center, Baichung back headed the ball towards Barreto who shot wide from close distance. Soon after, Steven had a great run down right flank and his center was tantalizingly close as Habibur just managed to clear the ball for corner. In the next minute, Sushil missed the easiest chance of the match but Sangram narrowed the angle and saved a certain goal. In 77th minute, Dipak dribbled the ball beautifully and dissected into Mahindra’s defence and gave a pass towards Barreto but he just could not reach and Subhashish made a timely save. Derek Perreira then brought in Rafi in place of Sushil Singh but Mohun Bagan defence played well and denied Mahindra the equalizer. Marcos was named Man of the Match. After Marcos has joined Mariners this season, they have played 6 matches out of which they have won 5, a great record indeed to boast about. For Mohun Bagan, Dipak Mandal and Sangram was shown yellow card and will miss their next match against Chirag United. Referee also gave caution to Sushant Matthew and Debabrata Roy of Mahindra United. Mohun Bagan now has 18 points from 10 matches and are now in 2nd position in the league table with Mahindra only 9 points and placed in 9th position. Mohun Bagan will next play against Chirag on Saturday.

     

Derek Perreira said, "We are playing well but due to poor finish we are placed in the bottom half of the table. Today I thought of using Chiddi as a replacement in 2nd half but the plan did not work. I have to go on trying so that strikers start converting the chances that they are getting into goals. I am really disappointed." He refused to comment on refereeing. Karim on the other hand looked elated and said, "I am very happy with the way the boys are fighting. We have developed a great team spirit and this is an important factor for our 5th back to back win. The goal was a brilliant one indeed. In fact whole team played well. Yes, initial 10-15 minutes, we could not play to our game plan but slowly we took control of the game. I was more worried of these 3 matches against JCT, Vasco and Mahindra as they were scheduled in quick succession but we managed to get full points from all the matches. Now we have few days time to prepare before Chirag match. The players who have played all the six matches I am giving them 2 days rest but the other players will join practice on Wednesday." When asked about Baichung, Kareem said, "I have to see how serious is  his injury, may be this is the cramp on his calf muscle, though I have to check on the report." When asked about referreeing, he said, "The referees are following some rules so strictly eg. whenever I am going out towards the side line to give instruction, they are asking me to come back, which is perfect but they should also be more consistent in giving fouls and penalties and cards. Every team has issue with referee."

 

TEAM: Sangram, Dipak, Odafe, Manju, Habibur, Lalkamal (Rahul Kumar 74), Masih, Marcos, Tulunga, Barreto (Kartick 93), Baichung (Lalampuia 90).

PICTURE COURTESY: Bartaman Patrika

 

Mohun Bagan defeated JCT 2-0 today in an I league match held in Salt Lake Stadium. Mohun Bagan played one player short for more than 45 minutes when Odafe was sent off after he was shown yellow card for the second time in 40th minute. Barreto and Ishfaq scored the goals for Mohun Bagan. Ishfaq was adjudged Man of the Match.

This was Mohun Bagan’s third straight win and the most notable thing is that in two out of the three games, Mariners played with 10 man.

Mohun Bagan played inspiring football today and this was one of the best performance of the team in this season. Mohun Bagan started the match in a positive note and looked in an attacking frame of mind. In 6 minutes, Ishfaq took a shot from outside the box which just went wide. Then Barreto gave a measured pass to Baichung whose shot unfortunately went straight to goalkeeper. From a Marcos corner, Manju missed a golden opportunity to give Mohun Bagan a lead when he could not head the ball inside goal. Mohun Bagan went ahead in 15 minutes via Ishfaq goal. James Singh Sr. delivered a center from right which dropped inside JCT box and Ishfaq came running and with a spot jump connected the ball to perfection with his head beating onrushing JCT goalkeeper, Mohun Bagan thus took a 1-0 lead. In 30th minute, James Singh again centered the ball from right flank which went to Barreto inside box, Barreto nicely chest trapped the ball and when he was about to take a shot, he was pushed by JCT defender, Julius and referee did not hesitate to give penalty in favor of Mohun Bagan. Barreto scored from the penalty by placing the ball to the left of goalkeeper who had dived in that direction but could not stop the ball. Mohun Bagan went 2-0 up.

In 42nd minute, referee Dinesh Nair gave marching orders to Odafe when he received his second yellow card of the match. Karim then changed his strategy and pushed back Masih to stopper position along with Manju, Marcos was shifted to defensive medio and Barreto went back to support midfield and he was changed from forward to attacking medio and Baichung became the lone striker. Mohun Bagan played cautious football in 2nd half being one man down but from counter attack got quite a few chances. In 62nd minute, Barreto centered the ball from right wing and Baichung brilliantly headed the ball but it went just over the goal post. In 75th minute, Barreto made a solo effort when he ran with the ball from midfield and then from just outside the box took a right footer which JCT goalkeeper dived on his left to make a brilliant save. JCT just got one chance in this half but Sangram made a valiant save to prevent JCT from scoring. Ishfaq got Man of the Match award. Ishfaq really played well but Marcos or Barreto could have got the award too. Both Barreto and Marcos had a great match today and controlled the midfield. Marcos was superb in his dual role of attacking medio in 1st half and defensive blocker in 2nd half. Mohun Bagan has now 12 points from 8 matches and will next play against Vasco on 20th November which is an away match of Mohun Bagan.

After the match, Kareem said, "I am very happy with how my team fought with one man short. Yes I had to change my plan like the Dempo match. I always have an alternate plan and apply it according to the situation of the match. However, whatever strategy or plan that I make is in paper, it is the players who execute them in field, so credit really should be given to them for this brilliant performance. Our team spirit has been very good." When asked to comment about Baichung, Kareem said, "Baichung is trying a lot and he played quite well as lone striker. He had to play against two great stoppers Julius and Anwar." Kareem further added, "Actually I cannot pick up a particular player, everybody performed their role to perfection. It is a team effort that has resulted in this three consecutive win." On asked whether Mohun Bagan has now become a contender to win I league, he said, "After winning 3 matches, we have now moved up in the table but still we have to perform consistently and keep on winning."

Mohun Bagan will leave for Goa day after tomorrow to play against Vasco.

MOHUN BAGAN: Sangram, Dipak, Manju, Odafe, Habibur, Ishfaq, Masih, Marcos, James Singh Sr. (Tulunga 89), Baichung (Lalampuia 85), Barreto (Lalkamal 90).

PICTURE COURTESY:  TRIDIP SHEET, SOUMYADEB SINHA