I-League: Sporting Stun Mohun Bagan In Kolkata To Record First Win Of The Campaign

Mohun Bagan started the game positively as they were desperate to take three points from this home game.

The initial stafes saw Ishfaq Ahmed combine well with Barreto and Chidi but the Sporting defence were up for the task

In the 11^th minute Bagan won a free kick when Sporting's Japanese recruit Kenji Arai fouled Edeh Chidi.

Bagan’s Brazilian medio Marcos Pereira stepped up to take it but it was high and wide of the target.

The home side's pressure paid off a minute later when Jose Ramirez Barreto found the back of the net with a clinical header from a Snehashish Chakraborty cross.

Satyajit Chatterjee’s men continued to dominate as Sueoka and Chidi were making it difficult for the Sporting defenders.

A powerful shot from Chidi struck the bar in the 18^th minute which had Sporting goalkeeper Felix staring like a spectator.

Seconds later Sporting striker Ejjiah Junior let fly a shot from distance which was just inches wide of the mark.

Sporting started to defend better with Felipe Gomes doing well against Barreto and company.

The equalizer for Sporting came in the 31^st minute when a through pass from Amos saw Adil Khan score a brilliant goal past Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee to make it 1-1.

Minutes before the half time whistle a misunderstanding in the Bagan box between N S Manju and Deepak Mandal had almost gifted Junior a goal but he failed miserably to take advantage of the situation.

At the start of the second period Bagan coach Satyajit Chaterjee brought on James Singh in place of Ishfaq to utilize the right flank properly.

The change worked almost immediately as James provided a brilliant cross to Barreto who headed wide of target despite catching the Sporting defence napping.

Sporting too changed their tactics as coach Vishwas Gaonkar replaced Nicholas Rodrigues with Bisheswor Singh.

Bagan were still looking the most likely team to get the next goal but in the 67th minute Sporting took a shock lead through Junior Elijah, whose header off Amos’ cross beat Sangram Mukherjee comprehensively.

The Mariners threw everything at Sporting in the last twenty minutes but the Goan side bravely held on for their first victory of the season.

Sporting remain rock bottom but their first win of the campaign will give them much needed confidence for the rest of the season while Bagan's title credentials will be seriously doubted as they are now seven points behind league leaders Dempo.

Goalscorers: Jose Ramirez Barreto (Mohun Bagan) 12', Adil Khan (Sporting Clube de Goa)32', Junior Elijah (Sporting Clube de Goa) 67'