Dipendu Biswas, Eduardo Coelho and Noel Wilson after the third goal on Thursday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: After East Bengal’s brilliant show against Goan outfit Sporting Clube de Goa, it was arch-rival Mohun Bagan’s turn to wallop another Goan team Salgaocar 3-0, re-establishing Bengal’s supremacy in the ongoing National Football League.

Mohun Bagan took lead through a Sushil Singh strike in the 39th minute. The rejuvenated side under Biswajit Bhattacharya bolstered the lead twice after the breather as Awudu Ibrahim and Eduardo Coelho netted the ball in the 77th and 85th minutes, respectively.

The green-and-maroons appeared an enthusiastic lot, with foreign recruit Awudu Ibrahim playing from a bit inside, posing as a real threat to the Salgaocar defence with his deft right footer on several occasions. It took the city giants a mere 10-12 minutes to take command over the proceedings and they held on to that till the final whistle.

Salgaocar, who are lurking in the relegation zone, looked to have faded into darkness after a blackout struck the Salt Lake Stadium. The Goans could never make a comeback into the game.

Mohun Bagan’s foreigner recruits Ibrahim and Coffi Agbessi showed excellent understanding up-front and the Salgaocar defenders had a tough time in handling the duo during the 90-minute affair.

The city team shot into the lead when Ibrahim-Dharamjit combination reached inside the Salgaocar box and essayed the ball towards the advancing Sushil, who made no mistake slotting it home. Mohun Bagan’s brilliant show in the mid-field made it possible for them to rout their Goan opponents easily.

After the change of sides, Salgaocar looked a tired lot, while Mohun Bagan forwards put the opponent defenders under scanner. However, the green-and-maroon brigade are themselves to be blamed for not winning by an even bigger margin. Coffi, Chinmoy Sarkar and Sushil missed sitters during the beginning of the second half. And thus had to wait till the 77th minute to double the lead.

Ibrahim, who had done everything to ensure his team’s three points from the outing, finally managed to put his name on the scorers’ list after speeding past a defender and deceiving the other two to unleash a firm right footer which the bulged the roof of the net.

The last pin in the Salgaocar coffin was planted by Eduardo, who aptly bagged the Man-of-the-Match award. The goal came from a set-piece movement. Coffi floated a flag-kick inside the box which was given direction by a header with immaculate precision.

Mohun Bagan now have 14 points from 10 matches, while Salgaocar remain on seven points from the same number of outings.

TEAMS

Mohun Bagan: Subrata Pal, Dulal Biswas, Eduardo Coelho, Sanjeev Maria, Manas Das, Dharamjit Singh (Tomba Singh 83), Noel Wilson, Chinmoy Sarkar, Coffi Edem Agbessi, Awudu Ibrahim, Sushil Singh (Dipendu Biswas 80).

Salgaocar SC: Juje Siddi, Remus Gomes, Roberto Fernandez, Agnelo Colaco, Biju J.V., Bhuvan Joshi (Samson Singh 71), Rocus Lamare, Fabio Dos Passos, William Colaco (Emmanuel Egware 46), Bruno de Oliviera, Ashim Biswas.

Referee: P. Bhaskar (Tamil Nadu).

Power cut again

It seems power cut is a menace that doesn’t want to leave the Salt Lake Stadium. The nuisance that first shamed the city on September 8, 2004, during India’s pre-World Cup encounter versus Japan ? thanks to a rat that decided to taste the electrical wires ? struck the Stadium once again, and what a moment it chose to show its strength!

It all happened as the match rolled into the ninth minute, just as Salgaocar were making a move towards the Mohun Bagan goal. But this time around, it occurred for a different reason, according to the stadium authorities.

“The voltage consumption was too high and so the gear failed to perform its duty, as a fallout the lights went off, but that is nothing to worry. It takes around 15-20 minutes to cool down and then it again glow as usual,” a stadium official said. According to the official, it is nothing abnormal for such a big arrangements, which hasn’t been looked after properly in the last twenty years.

The blackout remained for 23 minutes but after the match started everything was smooth going.

On Friday, Mohammedan Sporting and Air India face each other with the worry that both could lose the elite berth for the next edition of the NFL. Quite naturally they are cautious about not losing a point when they lock horns at the Salt lake Stadium on Friday.

Mohammedan Sporting, the local giant have 11 points from nine outings and will be desperate to log full points against the Mumbai outfit in their home match. “We are all under pressure as we are lurking in the relegation zone,” Mohammedan Sporting coach Mohammed Habib said after the practice session on Thursday.

Air India, who are on 10 points after eight matches, will also try their heart out to collect three points.