Mohun Bagan’s Jose Ramirez Barreto takes a crack at George Telegraph goal during their CFL Premier Division match on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Till James Singh replaced Subhashish Roy Chowdhury midway through the second session, it didn’t occur to any of his teammates that Arnab Das Sharma should be tested with grounders.

The George Telegraph goalkeeper had looked absolutely secure in negotiating aerial balls, having brought off some fine saves. Yet, Shanmugham Venkatesh & Co. kept feeding the young man from Bally with floaters and more floaters.

James, back in Mohun Bagan colours — predominantly green this time around — after five seasons, spotted a big gap on the left side of the George Telegraph goal and fired an accurate 30-yard right-footer which brought relief in the packed galleries.

Had the talented medio left his thinking cap behind, Carlos Roberto Pereira’s Mohun Bagan debut may have ended in catastrophe. His team, stung by an 18th-minute goal by Nigerian Salau Olawale, was just not being able to get the equaliser in the next hour — being denied either by the tall Das Sharma or Lady Luck.

For the record, Mohun Bagan had shared points with George Telegraph twice last season. They had also lost their opener in 2006 — to Calcutta Port Trust.

Even after James’s goal, Mohun Bagan had enough chances to net full points. The horizontal bar and the post came in the way of two Barreto headers, P. Lalawmpuia failed to give proper direction to a couple of left-footers from close range, Suman Datta delayed in taking a crack at goal and Dharamjit Singh sent the ball miles over the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat.

If the series of missed chances suggest that Mohun Bagan played memorable football, it isn’t 100 per cent true. Thousands had thronged the Mohun Bagan ground to check out Barreto and former India captain Venkatesh’s form. They were also curious to see how East Bengal-reject Pereira would deal with his new team. There were a few striking flaws which caught the eye, most notably in defence where stopper-backs Peter Siddiqui and Habibur Rehman lacked understanding. The cross from Pradip Roy, which resulted in George Telegraph’s goal, caught Siddiqui and Habibur unawares, giving an unmarked Olawale a free header.

The side-back was also a problem for Pereira. Once Bijoy Basfore had to leave the field after a collision with a George medio, there wasn’t a proper replacement. The right back, who lost consciousness for a few seconds, is under observation in a nursing home, according to the team doctor.

The midfield, despite the presence of established names like Venkatesh and Dharamjit, lacked someone who could hold the ball and control the game.

Barreto looked like the old Barreto in patches. Like when he anticipated a Venkatesh lob, rushed through and took a side-volley which didn’t miss by much. Like when the Brazilian read James’s through pass perfectly but mistimed the right-footer. And when he produced a delectable side-heel from the goalline which was well saved by the custodian.

Barreto can still sparkle, more so when he will have someone like Bhaichung Bhutia by his side, but may not be able to carry the team game after game, as he did in the past.

TEAMS

MOHUN BAGAN: Sangram Mukherjee, Bijoy Basfore (Chinmoy Sarkar, 10; P. Lalawmpuia), Peter Siddiqui, Habibur Rehman, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury (James Singh, 67), Suman Datta, Lalkamal Bhowmick, S. Venkatesh, Dharamjit Singh, Ishfaq Ahmed, Jose Ramirez Barreto

GEORGE TELEGRAPH: Arnab Das Sharma, Ashto Karar, Eric Jenue, Biswajit Saha, Gour Naskar, Satyajit Bose, Subha Kumar, Upendra Singh (Biplab Adhikry, 74), Pradip Roy (Tarak Bose, 89), Salau Olawale, Gautam Thakur (Paban Das, 84)

Referee: Dhanapati Roy