Mohun Bagan came from behind to overturn a 2-0 deficit to settle for a 2-2 draw against Odisha FC at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24.
Courtesy : MBSG Media |
Mohun Bagan
started the match with already a foot in the mud as a last minute injury ruled
out the creator in chief for Mohun Bagan , ‘Hugo Boumous’ out of the match .
Jason Cummings replaced the injured Frenchman in the process as , Juan twisted
his 3-5-2 formation to a modern 4-2-4 with Liston and Kiyan moving to left and
right wing respectively and Sadiku
leading the forward line and Cummings with the role of a Second Striker. With
Petratos, Anwar and Manvir already out, Players were instructed to play with
more safety but it resulted in nothing as midfield magicians Thapa and Sahal got injured and had to be subbed off during Half Time.
With the hope
of continuing their perfect start to the league , Bagan started the match with
the backing of almost 23,000 supporters at home. Sahal and Cummings, who were
handed the creator's role in absence of Boumous started the match well by
starting of several moves, but Odisha and their tactician Sergio Lobera had
planned out how to cancel out every mariners move and all that was even
successful because of only one man ‘Ahmed Jahouh’ who even scored twice in the
first half to take lead over the Mariners. Odisha and their wingers mainly focused
on taking the Bagan centre-backs to the sideline and deliver ball to the strong
and fast Diego Mauricio for scoring goals and they were pretty much successful
in doing so, when a cross met Mariner's captain Subhasish's hand and resulted in a Penalty for Odisha. Which Ahmed Jahouh successfully
converted and Odisha were leading 1-0 at the 31st minute. In the
additional minutes of the first half , Jahouh made a reckless challenge from
behind on Sahal, which to everyone's surprise was not awarded a foul to Bagan
and a caution was not shown to Jahouh . After Jahouh made that tackle on Sahal, the trailing ball reaches Diego on the left flank , meanwhile Jahouh had
continued his run at the top of the box. Diego crossed it for Jahouh to make
the scoreline 2-0. The under-performing first half saw Bagan going down to a
2-0, key players Sahal and Thapa being sidelined for indefinite period of time
and referee Crystal John giving ample decisions in favor of Odisha FC.
Second half started as Terina Hnamte and Glan Martins entered the fray in places of Thapa and Sahal respectively. Bagan were piling on the pressure on Odisha midfield but can't capitalize on it all thanks to the man ‘Ahmed Jahouh’. In the 57th minute , Jahouh injured his groin while receiving a high ball & had to be substituted and that was the point where the match turned in Bagan's favour. No sooner had Jahouh gone out than the Mariners responded through a Armando Sadiku goal assisted by Kiyan Nassiri from the right flank .
𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚝 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎...#MBSG showing how it's done 🌟 with brilliant teamwork! 🫠 #MBSGOFC #ISL #LetsFootball #ISLonSports18 #ISLonJioCinema #ISLonVh1 #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/hYWtTDyJVn
— Sports18 (@Sports18) December 6, 2023
Later Kiyan and Glan were substituted by Suhail and Deepak Tangri. Few minutes later a outrageous Vishal kaith save prevented Odisha from further extending their lead. The mariners kept on piling on the pressure as Hector Yuste moved upfront to help out the forwards and it bore fruit as Liston launched a ball forward in the second half stoppage time which was headed down by Hector for Sadiku to nutmeg onrushing Amrinder for the equalizer.
Behold the @mohunbagansg magic! 🪄
— Sports18 (@Sports18) December 6, 2023
Armando Sadiku's brace turns the tide from being two goals down to an epic equalizer – that's how the game swings. 🤌🏻🤯#MBSGOFC #ISL #LetsFootball #ISLonSports18 #ISLonJioCinema #ISLonVh1 #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/x4Zp4vGghJ
The proverb ‘Mohun Bagan are not beaten until the
final whistle’ was proved once again. Sadiku gave all his passion and
commitment in today's match and managed to earn his haters' respect with his
two very important goals. Juan was handed a red card at the end of the match
which will prevent him from sitting in the next match.
Mohun Bagan
showed great character and spirit to fight back against a good side, but a
draw at home is not acceptable, the team needs to show more urgency and
fierceness . This match also gave injuries to key players for both Mohun Bagan
and India. With a 9 day gap before next ISL match, the team is expected to do well
as they will soon be running into a thick run of fixtures with the top teams of
the league. Any slip would cause trouble for the ISL Shield dreams as continental dreams are already over.
MBFT Player Ratings :-
Vishal
Kaith - 7/10
Was in top
shape today. Pulled out a top drawer save from a Pranjal Bhumij shot to deny
visitors extending their lead further. Could not have done much for the 2 goals
conceded.
Brendan
Hamill – 6/10
Was good
today but still committed some silly mistakes which can to be rectified.
Hector
Yuste – 7/10
Was in top
form today, made every challenges to perfection, got the pre assist for our first goal & assist for Sadiku's
equalizer. Apart from that, he won 7 duals and did 5 clearances.
Subhashis Bose
– 6.5/10
Was good,
but no too much effective, moved forward well though. Won 8 duels, with 4/4 aerial duels.
Ashish Rai –
5/10
After a great display against Hyderabad, had a
really poor outing today, need to keep much consistency.
Anirudh
Thapa – 5/10
Got injured
seriously in the elbow & had to be subbed off at Half Time, but was not much effective in his stay on the pitch.
Sahal Abdul
Samad – 6/10
Was in lead
today for creating chances in absence of Boumous, did a pretty solid job but
sustained a nasty injury and eventually had to be subbed off just before the Half Time.
Jason
Cummings – 5.5/10
Came into
the starting 11 at the very last minute, was not much effective today but made
some good runs from behind into the box.
Liston
Colaco – 7/10
His rich
vein of form continues, but still need to do some work on decision making, it
was his long ball to Yuste that resulted in the equalizer.
Kiyan Nassiri
– 7.5/10
Another great game from Our Boy. He was brilliant again, got the assist for the first goal. Troubled everyone with his
pace. Won 10 duels and served 3 Key Passes today.
Armando Sadiku
– 8/10
Had the
best match in mariner's shirt, still wasted 2 big chances. Though he showed commitment and passion till the last
minute, this 2 goals might reveal the real ARMANDO SADIKU to the league.
To all the
opponents , Be Ready, Lion has tasted blood, now he will not stop.
Substitutes :-
Glan
Martins :- 5/10
Subbed On just before the half time for Sahal and had to be subbed off at 71' min for Deepak Tangri due to a injury. He created a Big Chance but eventually Sadiku missed it and apart from that his poor performance continues.
Suhail
Ahmad Bhatt – 6/10
Made some
mazy runs and troubled defenders with his pace
Terina
Hnamte – 6.5/10
Maintained composure
after coming in pace of Thapa, if he can maintain today's performance, he is
a future star for sure.
Deepak
Tangri – 6/10
Despite coming back
from ACL injury, he connected well with the team. He was covering spaces in the backling and helping other to force more up top. Hoping best from him in coming
matches.
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