Deepak Mondal tries to stop MoM Raman Vijayan from making headway in their CFL Premier Division match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Make no mistake, Mohammedan Sporting sizzled on Sunday!

Raman Vijayan, Mike Okoro, Douglas da Silva combined so well on Sunday that the Mohun Bagan defence of the Deepak Mondals and Sanjeev Marias virtually had no answer. As a result, the black-and-white brigade walked away with three vital points following a 2-1 win in the Sahara CFL Premier Division match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.

Douglas’ brilliant goal from the set-piece in the 17th minute was neutralised by Dipendu Biswas four minutes later and the winner was scored by Man of the Match Raman Vijayan in the 52nd minute.

Mohun Bagan had full domination in the first session, but squandered a number of chances, and thus, allowed Mohammedan Sporting to cherish a memorable win in their recent past.

It was quite against the run of play, Mohammedan Sporting got a direct free-kick just outside the box after Vijayan was tripped by Maria. Douglas, known for his finesse in these situations, took a brilliant left-footer that hit the inside of the bar and went in, giving his team the lead in the 17th minute.

But joy for Subhas Bhowmick’s side was short-lived. A long ball was crossed towards the box, which was intended for Bhaichung. The India captain impeccably headed it down for Dipendu, who made no mistake disturbing the net with a powerful shot. This was Dipendu’s 200th goal in a career spanning over a decade. But such remarkable feat from the country’s one of the leading scorers went in vain ultimately.

It was not Bhaichung’s day as well, as he missed an sitter. A Bijoy Basfore was asking for a firm volley, but the star striker failed to capitalise on it much to everyone’s surprise. Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Subhas Chakraborty, Satyajit Bose and Palash Karmakar linked up well with the Dipendu-Bhaichung pair, through a steady supply of balls from the middle, but the duo upfront misfired one opportunity after another.

Mohammedan Sporting went on rampage after Bhowmick brought in Jamir Ali Mondal in place of Noel Wilson, who had a miserable day in office. Jamir’s solo runs made it life difficult for Deepak and Maria in the backline.

Soon after the breather, Vijayan scored the all-important goal. Debjit Ghosh’s long through was nicely received by Okoro, who set it up for Vijayan to do the rest. Veteran Vijayan couldn’t have done anything wrong on his day.

Jamir, operating from the left, helped Okoro and Vijayan toying with the Mohun Bagan defence. Using the width of the park, Jamir-Okoro-Vijayan combine forced Mohun Bagan coach Biswajit Bhattacharya to bring in Suman Dutta in place of Palash Karmakar. But it was of no use as Mohammedan Sporting, by that time, had pressed the accelerator hard.

Mohammedan Sporting appeared to have been deprived of a penalty in the 75th minute, when Jamir’s long-ranger was somehow fisted out by Subrata Pal. Bijen Singh, lurking in the zone, took a prompt right-footer which struck Basfore’s hand. Referee Dhanapati Roy was unmoved. By virtue of this win, Mohammedan Sporting were on eight points after four matches while the green-and-maroons remained on four from as many outings.

TEAMS

Mohammedan Sporting: Gopal Das, Rajiv Ahmed, Madhab Das, Douglas da Silva, Habibur Rehman Mondal, Bijen Singh (Sudesh Muttah 81), Debjit Ghosh, Noel Wilson (Jamir Ali Mondal 39), Kalia Kulothungan, Mike Okoro, Raman Vijayan (Mohammed Nizam 78).

Mohun Bagan: Subrata Pal, Dulal Biswas, Sanjeev Maria, Deepak Mondal, Bijoy Basfore, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Subhas Chakraborty (P.C. Lalawmpuia 55), Satyajit Bose, Palash Karmakar (Suman Dutta 80), Bhaichung Bhutia, Dipendu Biswas.

Referee: Dhanapati Roy.

Man-of-the-Match: Raman Vijayan.

BAGAN THIS SEASON

IN CFL (PREMIER DIVISION)

• Lost to Port Trust 0-1
• Bt Eastern Railway 2-1
• Drew George Telegraph 1-1Lost to Mohammedan Sporting 1-2

DIPENDU’S ‘DOUBLE CENTURY’

Dipendu Biswas became the sixth Indian footballer to score 200 or more goals. The elite club also includes S. Mewalal, Mohammed Akbar, Sisir Ghosh, I.M. Vijayan and Bhaichung Bhutia. Incidentally, Nigerian Chima Okerie has also reached that benchmark on Indian soil. The following is the break-up of Dipendu’s goals:

• FOR INDIA — 19 matches, 7 goals
  
  
• FOR BENGAL — 30 matches, 18 goals
  
  
• FOR BIHAR — 5 matches, 11 goals (sub-junior nationals)
  
  
• FOR TFA — 22 matches, 19 goals
  
  
• FOR MOHUN BAGAN — 126 matches, 54 goals (including Sunday’s CFL encounter vs Mohammedan Sporting)
  
  
• FOR EAST BENGAL — 126 matches, 54 goals
  
  
• FOR MOHAMMEDAN SPORTING — 80 matches, 31 goals
  
  
• FOR MAHINDRA UNITED — 12 matches, 6 goals
  

Compiled by Hari Prasad Chattopadhyay