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Federation Cup: Bagan's Class Too Much For Mohammedan
Mohammedan worked hard, but Bencherifa's boys had too much quality...
21-Dec-2009 5:49:54 PM
The match kicked off with both sides employing an all-foreign strike force, as Bagan started with Chidi and Barreto, while Mohammedan had Eduardo and Theodore Sunday up front. The defending champions started the game brightly, with Chidi and Barreto combining extremely well along with new recruit Ryuji in midfield.
The goal came in as early as the sixth minute, as after taking a corner short, James Singh curled in a precise cross to the near post from the left, and Barreto got a slight touch on it, before the ball deflected off young Bipen Thapa into the back of the net.
Bagan continued to dominate after scoring, as Mohammedan barely saw the ball, but failed to create any obvious scoring chances for all their beautiful and flowing attacking play. Eduardo almost made them pay in the 19th minute, as he created space for himself just outside the Bagan penalty area, and curled in a shot towards the far post, which Sangram Mukherjee gathered at the second attempt.
The Bagan strikers continued to combine beautifully, and Ryuji's runs from midfield were a constant threat, and it took some superb last-ditch defending from Anupam Sarkar to keep the Kolkata giants out.
All that defending was worth it, as Goutam Thakur's introduction in place of Sanjay Parte sparked Shabbir Ali's men into life, and saw them pass the ball around better. It all paid off in the 33rd minute, after Theo's shot on goal was ricocheted into the path of Jothi Kumar inside the box, who cut the ball back onto his right foot and curled it inside the far post to restore parity.
Mohammedan looked a rejuvenated lot after the goal, and looked the better side for a very brief span of time, but Bagan came back hard, and barely a minute after Anupam Sarkar thwarted Ryuji with a fantastic tackle, the Japanese scored from James Singh's cross in the 41st minute to give his side the lead for the second time in the game.
The credit for the goal must also go to Jose Barreto, who played in James on the right with a sublime through ball. Bencherifa's wards held on to the lead going into half time, and deservedly so.
The second half began with neither side having made any change, but Mohammedan looked much more purposeful. Although Shabbir Ali's side couldn't create much going forward, they were far more committed without the ball, closing down Bagan quicker than in the first period.
Bagan weren't able to play their natural game, but were comfortable at the back, as Theo didn't have the best game, and Eduardo wasted most of the opportunities that came his way.
One such opportunity was in the 71st minute, as Sheikh Azim missed his header from a long ball, but Eduardo went for goal straight away from just outside the box, and scooped his volley wide.
Surkumar Singh was responsible for most of Bagan's shots on goal in the second half, with most of them being sent into orbit. However, he did get it right once in the 72nd minute, when he cut in from the right and unleashed a belter with his left foot, which shaved the top of the bar.
Sangram Mukherjee looked uncomfortable all day, and almost made a hash of a situation, when he decided against collecting a low cross from the right, and tried to volley it clear. He miscued his attempt, but it fell clear of any Mohammedan players.
Then, he almost gifted Mohammedan an equalizer in the 85th minute, as his attempted punch at a cross from a corner ricocheted straight into his near post! However, the Bagan defenders were alert enough to clear the danger.
As the match neared its close, Bencherifa looked more and more nervous, but his fears were eased, when Barreto poked the ball into the back of the net in the 90th minute to seal the game after some good work on the left from substitute Ishfaq Ahmed and Chidi Edeh.
And Bagan then rubbed salt into Mohammedan's wounds three minutes into injury time, as Chidi Edeh received the ball from Ishfaq 25 yards out, took a touch and curled in an absolute beauty just inside the far post past a helpless Naseem Akhtar, in what was the last bit of action in the game.
Mohun Bagan go top of Group B, at least until Mahindra play Chirag the same day.
Goalscorers Bagan: Jose Barreto (6th and 90th mins), Ryuiji (41st min) and Chidi Edeh (90 + 3 min)
Goalscorer Mohammedan: Jothi Kumar (33rd min)
Atishay Agarwal
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