MUMBAI, DECEMBER 7: An 87th minute strike by spearhead Amar Ganguly saw Mohun Bagan knook-out arch-rivals and Calcutta League champions Kingfischer East Bengal, 1-0, in the all-Bengal semi-final clash of the 10Oth Bristol Rovers Cup Football Tournament at the jam-packed Cooperage, on Sunday.
Bagan were deserving winners. They called the tune after a slow start and never looked back. The first-half was mostly a listless affair and two tries, one each by Bagan’s Debjit Ghosh and RP Singh were easily dealt with by East Bengal custodian Sangram Mukherjee.
The second-half of the game was contested at a blistering pace. Bagan dictated terms in a sustained manner, muffed several chances and then scored the match-winner late in the game. The goal sent their legion of supporters into raptures and came at a time when East Bengal were reduced to ten men, after their livewire linkman Suley Musah was shown the red card for a blatant foul on Bagan’s RP Singh in 79th minute.
With this victory, Bagan qualified to meet Goa League champions Zee Churchill Brothers in Tuesday’s final, which will commence at 4.30 p.m.
East Bengal had a golden opportunity to wrest the lead, following a swift counter-offensive in the 48th minute. Olim Talliaey caught the entire Bagan defence on the wrong foot with a forward pass. Bagan goal-tender Bivash Ghosh failed to cut off the pass after leaving his charge, but striker Sreekant Dutta shot wide off the untenanted goal.
Bagan made good use of the flanks to build up their raids. Their left flank bristled today with RP Singh stealing the show with his speedy runs. One of his long-range tries, from one such raid, was confidently taken care of by EB goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee in the 50th minute.
The absence of striker Dos Santos was felt in the Bagan ranks and their other Brazilian import Jose Barretto was well-policed by EB stopper Jackson Agaypong, who was a tower of strength in defence for the losers.
In the 72nd minute, Bagan left wing-back Lolendro Singh sent in a long precise diagonal to Barretto, who was unmarked in the box. The latter controlled the ball well, but shot meekly into the waiting hands of EB goalkeeper Mukherjee.
Five minutes later, goalkeeper Mukherjee brought off a spectacular save for his team. He dived full length to his right and fisted away a knee-high effort from the top of the box by Bagan linkman Dulal Biswas.
Barretto had a hand in the Bagan match-winner which came three minutes from the final whistle. He neatly headed the ball forward in the box for Amar Ganguly. The Bagan striker beat a defender and then placed the ball past goalkeeper Mukherjee from handshaking distance.
24 Nov 2013, Calcutta: If practice makes a man perfect, it has already earned Lalrindika Ralte something close to perfection as far as taking long-rangers are concerned.
Ralte’s superb 30-yard left-footer at the Salt Lake Stadium, on Sunday, did not only light up East Bengal’s I-League campaign, it lit up thousands of faces with the brightness that’s unique to this part of the world… The glow of happiness that one can find in the faces of victorious team’s fans after a city Derby was for the Kingfisher East Bengal fans to cherish on the day. Thanks to Ralte, thanks to his world-class goal.
Ralte makes sure he practises taking long-rangers on a regular basis. That his hard work didn’t go in vain was proved, once again, on Sunday as East Bengal emerged 1-0 winners over arch-rivals McDowell Mohun Bagan in the season’s first Derby.
One may say that the strike was very much against the run of play and not often do such long-range efforts find the desired target in Indian football. But if it’s Ralte, you better believe that the youngster is an exception. He deserves all the credit for coming up with an extraordinary piece of work in such a pressure-cooker situation.
So, precisely, Ralte’s 73rd-minute stunner was what separated the two teams on the day.
Till the goal, it was Mohun Bagan who looked the better of the two sides, even if marginally, as they focused on playing within their limitations.
But as Denson Devadas delayed in going for a tackle, which could have won him the ball back from Ralte, little did the Bagan midfielder realise what would follow.
Ralte was a good 30 yards away from the target when Harmanjot Singh Khabra set him up for a crack. Banking on his instincts, the 21-year-old unleashed a pile-driver that bulged into the net as Bagan ’keeper Shilton Paul’s desperate drive bore no fruit.
In other words, Shilton, who did a fairly decent job under the bar, stood dumbfounded, as did the rest of his teammates and thousands of Bagan fans. The red-and-gold supporters, as expected, were delirious.
Prior to that unbelievable strike, things weren’t looking that good for East Bengal. Bagan’s ace striker Okolie Odafe was beginning to look dangerous, while East Bengal captain Mehtab Hussain injured his knee trying to check the former. Mehtab had to be carried off the field.
But Ralte stood up and ensured the occasion belonged to East Bengal. Not only the players, officials and fans, the victory meant a lot for new coach Armando Colaco as well. His spontaneous celebration after the match left no one in any doubt about that.
As for Bagan, they will certainly be disappointed with the loss. Coach Karim Bencharifa, though, has some positives to take home. Topping the list is the performance of side-backs Pritam Kotal and Shouvik Ghosh, as both of them did a decent enough job.
Pritam even went on the overlap once and sent in a wonderful floater for Odafe 15 minutes after the breather. To be fair, the Bagan defence, despite the absence of Aniyichie Echezona, looked more organised than that of East Bengal.
They were efficient enough to make sure the crosses from the rival players got cleared or didn’t fall in place. Central defenders Aiborlang Khongjee and Rowilson Rodrigues played their part in keeping Edeh Chidi at bay, as Colaco’s treasured passing football appeared to be going for a toss.
Bagan could have taken the lead as early as the sixth minute when Odafe, operating from a little deep, set Eric Muranda up with a superb through ball. An advancing Abhijit, however, rescued his team with a brilliant save.
The East Bengal defence looked shaky for most parts of the match and Odafe, moving up in the second session, came perilously close to breaking the deadlock. After Uga Okpara lost the ball, Odafe did brilliantly to evade Arnab Mondal and Mehtab. But again, his attempt from such a close range failed to beat Abhijit.
It wasn’t Bagan’s day. It was East Bengal’s… It was Ralte’s.
Marcos Falopa wasn’t around for a comment, but one would have certainly liked to hear his views after Sunday’s Derby hero Lalrindika Ralte credited former East Bengal coach Trevor James Morgan for instilling in him the confidence of taking long-rangers.
This was new coach Armando Colaco’s first match with East Bengal, so he wouldn’t mind Ralte doffing his hat to Morgan. It’s a fact that Falopa, during his stint, never really enjoyed any reference to Morgan.
“I dedicate the goal to my family and my girlfriend… I also want to credit Morgan as he was the one who gave me the confidence and encouraged me to take long-rangers. I really blossomed under him and I thank him for that,” Ralte said after his 30-yard left-footer made all the difference in East Bengal’s 1-0 win over Mohun Bagan.
Ralte’s love for long-rangers is no secret. He once again stressed on the hard work that goes behind his successful long-rangers. “I love scoring from long-rangers… I have to work really hard during practice to attain perfection. Every day, after the training session, I practise them for some 20-odd minutes,” he said.
An East Bengal-Mohun Bagan Derby is always special. Any player who scores in one, especially in a winning cause, is elated. Ralte was no different. “Scoring for the first time in a Derby is always special… It just feels awesome to score in front of 80,000 people. It’s the best goal of my career so far… Better than the one I scored in the AFC Cup.”
East Bengal’s Japanese recruit Ryuji Sueoka, though, wasn’t too surprised with Ralte’s strike. “Of course, it was a terrific goal… But I’m not surprised as I’ve seen Lalrindika scoring these types of goals quite often in the past. He’s very much capable of getting them consistently,” Sueoka said.
Coach Armando Colaco, who admitted that the Calcutta Derby is a different experience altogether, feels Ralte could be far more dangerous if he uses his right leg.
“Lalrindika has a powerful left-footer, no doubt about it. That made the difference today. But he hardly uses his right-leg. In any case, he plays at a very difficult position in the left wing. With a little bit of correction, he can become an even better player,” the seasoned coach said.
Colaco’s counterpart, Karim Bencharifa, too, lauded Ralte’s strike. “I must say that was an out-of-the-world goal… Truly, a special one that took the game away from us,” he said.
But Falopa, who has returned to Brazil, wouldn’t be completely disappointed. True, Ralte didn’t remember him. But Colaco did. As promised, Colaco dedicated the Derby win to the Brazilian. “I dedicate this win to Falopa… I’ll give him a call soon as he had wished me whole-heartedly for this match.”
Amidst all the jubilation, captain Mehtab Hussain’s injury will leave a few creases on Colaco’s forehead. East Bengal’s next match is on Thursday, against United SC.
“It might take three to four days to recover from this knee injury. Let’s see what happens,” was all Mehtab could say.
10 July 2000, Calcutta:A comedy of errors crowned the concluding edition
of the McDowell Cup as East Bengal committed less of them to edge Mohun Bagan
1-0 in today’s final at Salt Lake Stadium.
The tale of blunders started in the first minute — when East
Bengal squandered one of the few chances they eventually created — and left the
40,000 spectators bemused, with the Mohun Bagan defence producing what was
perhaps its worst performance in recent ‘big’ matches.
As if to reciprocate all the false moves and inaccurate passes,
referee Supriya Bhattacharjee had a rather forgettable day in office and must
have thanked his stars for not letting things veer out of control.
Anit Ghosh got the goal at the stroke of half time with some
significant help from the rival defenders. The green-and-maroon men were mere
spectators when Dipendu Biswas tried to break into the box with Srikanta Dutta
for company.
They failed, without being challenged, and Anit picked up the ball
just outside the box and everybody assumed the ball would be relayed back to
Dipendu. Instead, Anit cracked a low left-footer which whistled past goalkeeper
Bivash Ghosh. The shot was powerful but the goalkeeper didn’t even dive.
Srikanta was a central character in the tale of misdeeds and two
of his adventures stood out for complete lack of common-sense. The striker
picked up a rare clever through from Carlton Chapman in the 64th minute and had
just the ’keeper to beat from about ten yards but his feeble left-footer
crawled into the lap of Bivash.
His selfish approach cost East Bengal a goal seven minutes later
when he refused to pass the ball to Dipendu only to be dispossessed.
The Mohun Bagan defenders looked insipid and though there was not
much pressure let in several balls despite maintaining numerical superiority in
the defensive zone.
Stopper-backs Shib Shankar Santra and M. Suresh formed a clumsy
pair and striker Joao Dos Santos was seen clearing the ball from where
left-back would normally stand even in the dying stages.
Their mid-field play was non-existent and there was absolutely no
supply for Santos and Jose Ramirez Barreto. James Singh and R.C. Prakash were
hardly visible and defensive medios Debjit Ghosh and Dulal Biswas, especially the
former, lost possession whenever a move was brewing.
They were ably complemented by the East Bengal mid-fielders who
played a slew of wrong passes and looked desperate to defend the lead right
after the interval.
The supervision was nightmarish with East Bengal’s Jackson
Egygopong getting away with several rough tackles after being booked and
Srikanta was shown just a yellow card for an unnecessary, off-the-ball push on
Bivash.
The height of it was witnessed midway into the second half when
Dipendu fell near the centre circle. He stayed like that for some time as the
ball travelled to distant corners of the turf with the referee, amazingly,
positioned near the injured player. He could have either ignored the player and
stayed near the ball or stopped play to pay attention to the extent of the
injury but did neither.
Dipendu’s individual brilliance and
initiative and the tussle between Dipak Mondal and Barreto were the only gains
from the lacklustre show and the defender impressed all with his water-tight
marking. Barreto was never allowed to turn or dribble and saw teammates losing
possession on the couple of occasions he managed to do so.
Mohun Bagan coach Subrata
Bhattacharya blamed the referee and his defenders for today’s McDowell Cup
final defeat against East Bengal.
At the centre of the coach’s ire was the official. But he was not
as harsh on his defenders. “Yes, our defenders played below expectations but we
kept East Bengal under pressure.”
He said his team was denied a penalty and numerous fouls on his
Brazilian forwards Joao Dos Santos and Jose Ramirez Barreto were overlooked.
East Bengal coach Syed Nayeemuddin said he
was happy with the performance because it won them the trophy. Otherwise, he
added with a grin, he would give the team 15 out of 100!
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.
2 Sept 2000, Calcutta: The traditional paper torches lit up the early evening sky
as a 1-1 stalemate extinguished Mohun Bagan’s hopes of stopping East Bengal
from posting a hattrick of Super Division League triumphs.
Mohun Bagan’s Jose Ramirez Barreto neutralised Sur Kumar
Singh’s 24th-minute strike in the 54th but the result kept East Bengal five
points ahead of their arch rivals. With a three-point gap between the top-two
being enough to do away with a championship play-off final, East Bengal (35
points) emerged champions for the 27th time.
Needing nothing short of a win to keep alive chances of
bagging their 25th title, Mohun Bagan did show the urgency in the early stages.
Choosing to go in without a defensive midfielder, Mohun Bagan succeeded in
taking early control of that zone and started operating at a brisk pace.
They even put one into the goal in the third minute but
that R.C. Praksh effort, off a Basudeb Mondal corner, was disallowed because of
an infringement. The early charge rattled East Bengal and the credit for the
fact that they did stage a comeback must go to Chandan Das.
Spotting the huge open spaces in the rival-half caused by
their movement upwards, Chandan started probing the empty pockets with some
accurate long passes, most of which were essayed from well inside his own half.
He also made sure that both flanks remained active and played a key role in the
goal.
Chandan’s 30-yard freekick found Carlton Chapman down the
left, who, on entering the box floated one towards the far post. Right-back Sur
Kumar stole in unnoticed and unchallenged, his header keeping the custodian
rooted to the spot. The aerial crosses were accurate and the header well-placed
but the liberty Sur Kumar enjoyed well inside the rival box was inexplicable.
Chandan continued essaying the long-rangers and most of
them found either Dipendu Biswas or Sheikh Sanjib who seemed to lack the last
and decisive touch. At least three of them split open the rival defence and
should have been converted. Chandan also tried a few long-rangers one of which
had to be tipped over by a diving ’keeper.
The goal took the sting out of Mohun Bagan and their coach
must also take a fair share of the blame for a substitution that defied logic.
Replacing Satyajit Chatterjee with Joao Dos Santos right after the goal,
Subrata Bhattacharya took off a principal source of all the able passes. The
veteran was looking charged up and a few good prompts for Barreto had class
written all over.
This move ensured that Mohun Bagan lost a creative mind in
the midfield and Santos, not for the first time, looked puzzled and ran around
aimlessly, unsure of his role. Things turned better in the second half when he
was pushed forward with Barreto falling back a bit. But the damage had already
been done once Satyajit was taken off and Mohun Bagan lost control soon after.
Mohun Bagan started the second half with renewed vigour and
equalised soon after. Barreto once again played the lead as he released Rennedy
down the left with a deft flick of the boot and the India medio sent in a deep
centre which floated accross the goalmouth, tempting the goalkeeper to have a
go at it.
The ’keeper missed the flight as Prakash headed it back for
Barreto who nodded in his eighth goal of the League. It put him jointly on top
of the list alongside Prakash.
Barring the goal, the Brazilian was not at his best and
this significantly affected their chances. The disorganised display after the
goal bore testimony to that as they failed to take advantage of a few crucial
errors committed by the normally reliable Jackson Egygpong.
Being showered with praise after the
completion of the Super Division Derby, the East Bengal coach said he wants to
savour the triumph for some time before planning for the future. His Mohun
Bagan counterpart, however, blamed the referee for today’s 1-1 draw.
The
result was enough for Syed Nayeemuddin’s men to seal the title and the coach
praised the club officials for giving him a free hand. “My association with
East Bengal brings back special memories as I got the Arjuna and Dronacharya
Awards while being with this club,” he said.
Nayeem,
not known for identifying individuals for special praise, said Sur Kumar Singh,
Chandan Das, Sangram Mukherjee and Dipak Mondal were the finds of the season.
The
East Bengal crowd’s hero of the day, scorer Sur Kumar, said he was enjoying his
new role as right-back though a more central role is what he is more used to.
“Yeah,
overlapping is new to me, I learnt the nuances from our coah here,” said the
20-year-old from Khurkhul, a place 16 kms away from Manipur.
This
is his first season with a club after having graduated from the Tata Football
Academy this year.
The
Mohun Bagan coach said his team was denied at least three penalties and blamed
the referee for not being able to force a win. He also said that R.C. Prakash’s
third-minute goal, disallowed for a foul, was proper.
“Such
referees should be suspended. His decisions affected our boys’ confidence and
that is the reason why we couldn’t win,” said Subrata Bhattacharya.
Subrata
even said that East Bengal will not be able to do well in matches outside
Calcutta as they won’t be getting such “assistance” from the officials.
About
the game, he defended his move of replacing Satyajit Chatterjee with Joao Dos
Santos, saying he needed more men up front. He also stood by his defenders who
stood mere spectators when East Bengal scored.
“They
were undone by the number of wrong verdicts. I don’t blame them. Also, it would
have been a different story had our third-minute goal been upheld,”
Bhattacharya said.
According to club officials, Mohun Bagan may lodge a formal
protest against the referee. They added that Mohun Bagan may not take part in
the upcoming IFA Shield if their matches are not conducted by outstation
officials.
“This is not regarding our matches against East Bengal but
applies to other games as well,” said an official.
16 Sept 2000, Calcutta:Amar Ganguly has had to
live in the shadows of Mohun Bagan’s star strikers this season. Today, he
squandered his chance for a place in the sun.
Banished to the bench on
most occasions, Ganguly, a second-half substitute at today’s IFA Shield final,
was tantalisingly close to what would have been the the ‘golden goal’ when he
faltered. As he sat clutching his head in disbelief, the scene somehow summed
up Mohun Bagan’s story at the Salt Lake Stadium.
A story of missed
opportunities.
East Bengal escaped to
victory, winning the tie-breaker hands down to complete a ‘triple crown’ of
local titles after triumphs in the McDowell Cup and Super Division League.
In a fascinating match
of fluctuating fortunes, it was East Bengal who drew first blood, Chandan Das
finding the mark from a 26th-minute breakaway. Jose Barreto brought parity for
the green-and maroon brigade with a classy strike 38 minutes into the second
session.
And then, after more
misses, the game spilled into the penalty shootout that went all wrong for
Mohun Bagan — from the first kick.
The result will be a
real heartbreak for Mohun Bagan, for they have rarely dominated their
arch-rivals in the manner they did today. They will, of course, have been
rudely reminded that, in the end, it’s not just about creating opportunities
but scoring from them.
The midfield was always
going to be the key area, and Mohun bagan took control from the onset. However,
even as they pressed forward, East Bengal always seemed to catch them on the
wrong foot with quick breakways. One of these produced the first goal, though
Amitava Chanda could take a great deal of blame for some clumsy defending.
When the ball ran loose
towards Chanda and Suley Musah in a 50-50 situation, the Mohun Bagan left-back,
the last defender on this occasion, made the cardinal mistake of going for an
all out tackle. Once he failed, Musah was left with all the space he needed.His
cross found Chandan, whose prompt shot at goal went in off the left post. Bagan
turned the heat on from there, but were thwarted time and again by goalkeeper
Sangram Mukherjee.
The 20-year-old TFA blue
had a dream day, rising every time his team faced danger. It looked as if
nothing could beat the boy from Kanchrapara, till the brilliance of Barreto
bailed Mohun Bagan out yet again.
The crafty Brazilian,
who found very little support upfront, showed his class when R.C. Prakash sent
in a cross. Barreto shut out Sur Kumar Singh with his body even as he sent his
side-volley past the hapless goalkeeper.
Sur Kumar, after getting
into a few elbow-pushing bouts with the Brazilian, had to leave the pitch six
minutes before the end after his second booking of the day.
Barreto did little
wrong, though he did mess up a chance to get the ‘golden goal’. Prakash was to
find the crosspiece minutes later.
East Bengal too got
their chances, most of them from breakaways down right, but they may well want
to dedicate this victory to their spirit. The ability to hang on, and deliver
the knockout punch.
THE SHOOTOUT
East Bengal opens with
Chandan Das sending the goalkeeper the wrong way on the left. (1-0)
Sammy Omollo’s push
along the carpet to the goalkeeper’s left is saved by the diving Sangram. (1-0)
Musah beats a diving
Sandip on his right. (2-0)
Dulal Biswas tries to
blast his shot in but it comes to grief on the crosspiece. Mohun Bagan is now
in real trouble. (2-0)
Ratan Singh, the
‘left-footer’, fools Sandip with a right-footer that goes past the goalie’s
right. (3-0)
Satyajit Chatterjee, the
‘pro’ shows his mates how it’s done by coolly slotting to the left of Sangram.
(3-1)
Sandip needs to save this one to keep Mohun Bagan afloat, but
Dipendu gives him no chance with a nice placement. (4-1)
TEAMS
EAST
BENGAL: Sangram
Mukherjee; Sur Kumar Singh, Dipak Mondal, Jackson Egygpong, Ratan Singh; Suley
Musah, Carlton Chapman (Tushar Rakshit 51st, Ranjan Dey 103rd), Chandan Das,
Dipankar Roy (Anit Ghosh 88th); Dipendu Biswas, Bijen Singh.
17 Feb 2001, Calcutta: East Bengal leapfrogged to the top of the National Football League table. And Mohun Bagan did everything apart from scoring even after creating several chances to suffer a 0-1 defeat against their biggest rivals at Salt Lake Stadium today.
East Bengal are now on top of the table with 16 points from seven games. Mohun Bagan have 14, also from seven outings.
The all-important goal came in the 47th minute when Omolaja Olalekan scored after a blunder from Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Kalyan Chowbey left him with no other option.
It happened at the very beginning of the second half. A Dipankar Roy lob from the deep, on the way deflected first by Dipendu Biswas and then by Mohun Bagan’s M. Suresh, fell into Omolaja’s way.
The goalkeeper came out of his line to collect the ball with sufficient help from defender Amouri da Silva, who shielded it from Omolaja till he was sure that the goalkeeper had things under control. Even Chowbey seemed to be sure of himself and yet let it slip out of his grip. The Nigerian, as if embarrassed by Chowbey’s error, shyly tapped the ball in with his right foot.
Bagan coach Subrata Bhattacharya made a few unexpected changes in his team. Unfortunately, none of them worked. The decision to play Chowbey, with Bivas Ghosh and Rajat Ghosh Dastidar available, was baffling. This move proved to be fatal and Chowbey, who last played against Tollygunge Agragami on December 18, did not rise to the occasion.
The coach at the end of the match justified his decision. “I chose him because his outings are good,” he reasoned. It’s a different matter altogether, that Chowbey’s “outing” proved to be his and his team’s downfall.
Bagan also started with Amitava Chanda playing as right-back. Chanda, not really a regular in the team, could not get into the rhythm of the game and had to be replaced by James Singh as early as in the 24th minute. Dulal Biswas, starting in midfield, fell back. The tactical decision taken by Subrata to start with two defensive midfielders, when Bagan’s strength is their attacking midfield could not be however justified. Basudeb Mondal’s presence from the beginning may have made a difference.
The first half was a sedate affair, with both sides creating few chances. In the 17th minute, East Bengal’s Ghanaian recruit Suley Musah took the first shot of the match. A stinging right-footer had Chowbey stretch for probably the only vital save he made today.
Mohun Bagan’s defence was also not totally in control of the game. In the 33rd minute, Dipendu and Dipankar were left unmarked in front of the opponent’s citadel. But fortunately for Mohun Bagan, the East Bengal marksmen could not take advantage.
After scoring the goal, East Bengal completely lost their composure for sometime and Mohun Bagan made repeated attacks, but only till the goalmouth. In the 51st minute, two consecutive shots from well inside the penalty box, first by James and then by Dulal Biswas, were both hit at goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee.
Again in the 59th, a header from Jose Ramirez Barreto found James in front with only the goalkeeper to beat. But before James could take his shot properly, Sangram came charging and the ball went wide of the target. James should have scored from the position he was in but then the miss summarised Mohun Bagan’s inability to convert their chances today.
Barreto, who was not very effective in the first half, was in his elements in the second. However, there was never adequate support from his teammates. Mohun Bagan did put the ball into the net in the 78th minute but only after the whistle had been blown for an infringement on the goalkeeper by Barreto.
