The setback at Jamshedpur FC last Thursday brought the high-flying Mohun Bagan Super Giant back to the ground but it also helped clean the cobwebs which had gathered during the break after the league phase of ISL-XI.
Now, as they seek to make it to the ISL Cup final for the second year on the trot, Bagan are charged up to clear the 2-1 deficit — they have to win by a two-goal margin — in the return leg of the second semi-final at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday.
Bagan have an enviable home record in this ISL — they are unbeaten in 11 matches and are banking on fan support to unnerve the visitors.
Some of Bagan's travelling fans were allegedly beaten up by policemen and security personnel and got injured in the process when they celebrated Jason Cummings's equaliser at the JRD Tata Sports Complex last week. Coach Jose Molina said the players and the support staff are keen to win the match for those heckled supporters.
"Violence is not good, never, and hopefully it won't happen again," was Molina's message at the pre-match news conference at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday. "It was not a nice thing," forward Jamie MacLaren said.
The five supporters were also present and Molina gave each of them a rose and a match ticket. "It's our way of saying we are with them," Maclaren added.
While Bagan are grappling with injuries, Jamshedpur have card problems. Bagan are still fretting over the fitness of Lalengmawia 'Apuia' Ralte and Manvir Singh while Jamshedpur FC will miss three players — Stephen Eze, Mobashir Rahman and Ashutosh Mehta.
“Yes, we will miss them — they’ve been important for us. But this is part of the game. Injuries, suspensions — these things happen. What matters is that whoever steps in shows they belong here too. I believe in every player in this squad,” Jamshedpur FC coach Khalid Jamil said at the news conference.
The absence of Eze, the towering defender who had a hand in Jamshedpur FC's first goal in the first leg, should give Bagan some relief but Maclaren said the visitors still have enough steel at the back.
Bagan made a blunder by putting most of the players in attack in the dying stages of the first leg which left acres of space at the back for Jamshedpur FC to exploit. Deservingly, Jamil's men got the winner through Javi Hernandez as Bagan players could not track back to boost the defence.
"Yes, we could have been smarter at the death and maybe just kept it at 1-1. But it's not in Bagan's DNA to play for a draw. We always play to win and sometimes you leave yourself a little bit exposed at the back," Maclaren was to the point.
Monday's match could also see some of the Lucknow Super Giants cricketers rooting for the green-and-maroon brigade. Lucknow Super Giants are in the city to play KKR on Tuesday.