I-League: Bagan just about win against Chirag

New Delhi: Mohun Bagan registered their first victory in all competitions in over a month as they just about managed to beat Chirag United 2-1 in a 20th round I-League encounter at the Barasat Stadium, Kolkata.

The win takes Mohun Bagan to 36 points, six behind league leaders Churchill Brothers but importantly have two games in hand. Chirag United continue to occupy the 11th spot as they shall be disappointed not to have come out with at least a point.

Chirag United coach Subrata Bhattacharya started with a lone man upfront in Shankar Oraon with Snehashish Chakraborty and Gauranga Dutta being the two wingers. Mohun Bagan’s Karim Bencherifa played Deepak Mandal alongside N.Manju in the central defence with Mohanraj and Habibur Rahman being the two full-backs.

The first chance befell Chirag United as Gauranga Dutta did well to get behind the Bagan backline and his cross from the right saw Snehashish miss the header inside the box in the seventh minute.

It was Chirag United who had the lion’s share of possession but couldn’t create much as they were often short of men upfront. Mohun Bagan didn’t look at their best and were content in defending for most parts.

In the 25th minute, Jose Barreto despite being crowded by three Chirag players managed to cross which turned to be too far for Bhaichung Bhutia in the box.

Shankar Oraon did a lot of running and turned Deepak Mandal around but his shot was blocked by Mohanraj. Around the half hour mark, Ishfaq Ahmed sent the ball into the box which was headed by Louis Ebami only as far as Rakesh Masih whose final shot was deflected for a corner.

In the 37th minute, Marcos found Mohanraj in acres of space on the left from a free-kick. The left-back’s cross saw the ball land at the feet of Rakesh Masih who sent in a tame shot.

Gauranga Dutta once again got the better of Mohanraj and his cross saw an onrushing Hardeep Saini miss the target.

Mohun Bagan took a shock lead from a shot corner by Marcos Pereira as it was flicked by Bhaichung Bhutia only to see Arnab Mondal put it into his own net,

In the second session, Chirag United substituted Hardeep Saini, who was brilliant in the first session as he was the dominant force keeping Rakesh Masih and Marcos Pereira subdued for long.

Snehashish Chakraborty pulled it back for Shankar Oraon but the youngster’s poor first touch allowed Bagan to clear the danger.

The Green and Maroon slowly began to impose themselves on the match and regain control of the proceedings especially in the middle of the park.

A Marcos Pereira cornerkick saw Malswamtulunga cross which Jose Barreto missed only by inches. Bhaichung Bhutia sent in a throughball for Jose Barreto who made an angular run from right to left and his final shot under pressure from Arnab Mondal went over.

Another Marcos Pereira corner-kick went as far as Mohanraj outside the box whose first time left footer produced a decent save from Chirag custodian Robikanta Singh.

An error from Mohanraj would have allowed Chirag to equalise as Shankar Oraon couldn’t make the most of the opportunity. Two minutes later, Shankar flicked it for Snehashish Chakraborty whose first time left footer went straight into the far corner of the net with Habibur Rahman being the guilty party.

The very next minute Jose Barreto won a free-kick and the resultant Marcos Pereira delivery from the right was headed in by Bhaichung Bhutia to score the winner.

Bhaichung scored another with his head but the goal was disallowed as the linesman considered the Indian skipper to have fouled Goutam Debnath.

The match ended with the same scoreline but Chirag United shall take some heart out of their performance though they never really tested Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee. Mohun Bagan have got the title challenge back on track but they do look defensively susceptible.

Goalscorers Bagan: Arnab Mondal (45 og) and Bhaichung Bhutia (79th min)

Goalscorer Chirag: Snehashish Chakraborty (78th min)

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