Calcutta: Owing to McDowell Mohun Bagan’s insipid performances in their last three I-League matches, only a handful of the green and maroon supporters turned up at the Salt Lake Stadium, on Tuesday.
But those who came were treated to a wonderful exhibition of football as Bagan thrashed Lajong FC 6-1 to climb to the third spot of the I-League table with 43 points from 24 matches. Lajong remained in the 10th position with 27 points after playing the same number of matches as Bagan.
While Sunil Chetri (24th & 73rd) and Okolie Odafe (42nd & 50th) both struck a brace, Syed Rahim Nabi (21st) and captain Jose Ramirez Barreto (62nd) also had their names on the scoresheet. The Shillong-based club managed to pull one back through Subhas Singh (58th).
It was a well-deserved victory for Bagan, who drew their last three matches. If the last match saw lack of cohesion between the Bagan midfielders and strikers, Tuesday’s tie witnessed terrific co-ordination between the players.
Bagan captain Barreto played a leading role in the victory. Though playing as a striker, the seasoned Brazilian took up the role of a playmaker and set up numerous openings for his teammates.
Speaking after the match, Bagan captain Barreto said that the players executed the plans to perfection. “In the last match, we suffered because our strikers could not establish a link with the midfielders. But today our plan was to use the free spaces… We played a brilliant team game,” Barreto said.
Bagan also used the wings to good effect. Hudson Lima and Manish Bhargav played tirelessly on the wings to manufacture the moves.
Moving onto the goals, Bagan scored their first in the 21st minute. After receiving a pass from Barreto on the left, Nabi beautifully lobbed it over Lajong ’keeper Soram Poirei to net the opening goal. Three minutes later, Bagan’s second came through Chetri, who finished perfectly after Barreto put him through.
Odafe got his name on the scoresheet in the 41st minute with a wonderful strike. And after the changeover, Odafe scored again. He waded past five defenders inside the penalty box to score through a powerful left-footer.
Lajong, too, had something to cheer about when Subhash Singh headed in a low Lalnunmawia cross.
However, Bagan extended their lead in the 62nd minute. Referee Pratap Singh awarded Bagan a penalty after Chetri was brought down in the box by Subhash. Barreto stepped up to do the formalities.
In the 75th minute, Man of the Match Chetri was in the heart of action again. He delightfully curled a ball into the net after rounding off his marker.
But Bagan’s good day was spoilt somewhat as defender Anwar Ali was ruled out of their next match, against Salgaocar, due to a double booking.
In other matches, Pailan Arrows held Mumbai FC to a 1-1 draw while Pune FC defeated HAL 6-4. George Alwyn scored the equaliser for Arrows in the 71st minute after Abhishek Yadav gave Mumbai FC the lead in the 29th minute.
Teams
Mohun Bagan: Shilton Paul, Surkumar Singh, Kinshuk Debnath, Syed Rahim Nabi, Anwar, Jewel Raja (Souvik Chakraborty 34’), Hudson Lima (Snehashish Chakraborty 61’), Manish Bhargav, Sunil Chetri, Jose Ramirez Barreto (Ashim Biswas 81’), Okolie Odafe
Lajong FC: Soram Poirei, Wailadmi Passah, Ronald Zothanzama, Lallawamzuala, Lalramluaha, Boithang Haokip (Seikhohao Tuboi 66’), Lalnunmawia (Rennedy Singh 52’), Mathew Mayora, Subhash Singh, John Meyongar, Sushil Singh
Referee: Pratap Singh
MoM: Sunil Chetri
