29 July 2000, Calcutta: The match was evenly fought, the score even. A crowd of
70,000 watched as Mohun Bagan and East Bengal drew their first encounter in the
Super Division League 1-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium today.
East
Bengal started with repeated raids on the opposition goal and went ahead
through Carlton Chapman in the ninth minute. Jose Ramirez Barreto converted a
direct free-kick in the 35th to bring Mohun Bagan back in the match.
East
Bengal used the left flank frequently in the first half with Dipendu Biswas
being the centre of all moves. He made some good crosses and played an
important role in Chapman’s goal. Dipankar started the move, found Dipendu on
the left who guarded the ball, swerved around Sumit Sengupta and centred it for
Chapman.
The
East Bengal skipper came unmarked down the right and scored with a blazing
right-footer.
At
the other end, Barreto was marked very closely by Dipak Mondal who gave the
Brazilian little room. But Barreto’s efforts to free himself resulted in
consecutive free-kicks. While a collective effort by Sammy Omollo and Barreto
failed in the first instance, there was no stopping the latter in the second.
Barreto
earned a free-kick when Jackson Egygpong fouled him a few yards outside the
penalty box. He unleashed an in-swinging curler, placing it sweetly at the
corner of the goal which gave the goalkeeper little time to react. The players
forming the ‘wall’ too looked mystified as Barreto’s right-footed shot sailed
above them. The goal came so suddenly that the crowd took sometime to react and
for the first time the Mohun Bagan supporters found their voice.
Meanwhile,
Dipendu continued his runs but each of them proved fruitless. Dipankar Roy
missed the easiest of them when his wild right-footer, from 15 yards, sailed
way above the goal.
Off
a counter-attack, Barreto masterminded a beautiful move after evading a number
of defenders and found James Singh at a very good position. But James hit a
wild shot which went nowhere near the goal.
The
move, though, did not materialise into a goal but Mohun Bagan were just about
starting to dominate.
They
began the second half from where they left in the first. Barreto was now
operating from the deep. The East Bengal goalkeeper did not make life any easier
for his teammates as he failed to cleanly collect the ball on a number of
occasions.
From
a set-piece move which started with R.C. Prakash, Santos hit a good
right-footer that hit the bar and fell in front of Shanti Majumdar. The
custodian did everything but hold on to the ball but fortunately for him, none
of the Mohun Bagan players were in a position to capitalise.
East
Bengal made two substitutions at this point, which changed the course of the
match. Sheikh Sanjib came in for Srikanta Dutta and Tushar Rakshit replaced
Anit Ghosh. From then on, East Bengal made good use of their right flank with
Sanjib making a few charges at the opposition’s defence. Rakshit broke Bagan’s
hold on the game and added new vigour to the midfield.
East
Bengal coach, Syed Nayeemuddin, also mentioned the two substitutes as the only
gains from the game.
In
the dying moments, James took a corner and almost scored. The ball hit the post
and was finally cleared by Chapman.
Both
teams showed equal desperation and at one instance play continued for minutes
with Dipendu lying on the ground injured. It is a different matter altogether
that Dipendu returned immediately after being stretchered out.
Mohun Bagan’s defence, after quite some time, looked strong
and the credit can be granted to the return of Sammy Omollo who was unbeatable
in the air and clean on the ground. The only drawback in their game was the
appalling standard of the use of dead-ball situations.
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