Bagan share points in a 1-1 draw with Air India in an avid display of squandered chances. Mohun Bagan began the match on a right note and intent as they opened the Air India goal mouth on numerous occasions right from the start go.
Ishfaq Ahmed played his heart out, spearheading innumerable forays into the heart of Bimal Ghosh’s defense line. But the Mariners failed to do what mattered most – to wrest initiative !

Lalkamal Bhoumik who featured in the starting XI looked good after a long time. He did take confident strides and issued good looking long passes, which either resulted in Lalampuia narrowly missing the mark or in a missed Barreto effort ! 

But it was Air India who went 1 up during the lime break. The goal was the costly effect of a defensive lapse which could have been saved by Shilton Paul, who, otherwise was quite effervescent under the cross bar.

Branco Cardozo came on in during the 2nd half and managed to salvage some pride for the Mariners as he netted in the equaliser from a PC Lalampuia pass.

Apart from this the story rounded up as the Bagan efforts kept on missing the target or found its target in the hands of the Air India custodian.The end result – Bagan lost 5 out of 6 points in their first 2 matches. Another I-League and another saga of lost points !

 Photos: Saurav Mitra

Poor start of the mariners cost 3 valuable points in their opening match in ONGC I-League against Mumbai FC at Barasat Stadium. Mohun Bagan and India captain Baichung Bhutia has asked the team members not to criticize each other in the dressing room after the game is over. Hence, the team will stay away from the ‘autopsy’ on Saturday, after a stunning loss to Mumbai FC by 1-2. The first question in the mind of supporters , fans and members would be very simple ‘what just happened?’

The second ‘And will it show up in other matches as well?’ The i-League has just started and Bagan is already in the lower half after they lost to Mumbai FC 1-2. Mumbai FC scored two goals in first 25 mins while PC Lalawmpuia reduced the margin in the second half. Baichung Bhutia and Jose Barreto missed few opportunities , while Bagan was deprived of a penalty when a Mumbai FC defender handled the ball inside the penalty box. Ex-Bagan Kalyan Chaubey , Sanjay Parte, Subhash Chakraborty played pretty well while the TFA boys and the Bagandefense were far from their best.

After winning the Premier League, the mainers are in the jeopardy of losing 3 points in the home match. One can only hope that the team will turn the table around and will be back in to the winning spree. The blocking long throws-in , feeble shots inside the penalty area, lack of central midfield, slow movements of Baichung and Barreto, misunderstanding within the defenders, and a goalkeeper who was found limping from the 5th minute of the match – all contributed to the poor show.  One can hope Bagan defense will improve from the next match and Shilton should be able to judge the ball well. One also hopes that there will be some movements in the central midfield.

Rice Education is the new cosponsor. MohunBagan has got Rice Education as new cosponsors for I league and Fed Cup. Their logo will be displayed on the sleeves and pants. Of note, NIIT was cosponsor in Kolkata league of Mohun Bagan.It is good to know that many educational institutions are coming forward to be cosponsors. It reflects the fact that the student fraternity is still in love with sports as a whole and Mohun Bagan in particular.