The Final Chapter, Mohun Bagan SG vs North East United FC Durand Cup Final Match Preview!

byRitam Chakraborty -

THE FINAL CHAPTER
Mohun Bagan vs North East Utd Preview

Courtesy : Durand Cup Media


“Let our sister get justice” was the common voice amongst the Mariners supporters on the night of the Durand Cup Semi finals against Bengaluru. The contest which could have easily ended our Durand cup campaign served as a rebellion against injustice governing this world. The match in itself was entertaining enough, keeping the spectators by the edge of their seats who witnessed another dramatic turnaround as the Mariners storm into another Final, eyeing their record-extending 18th Durand Cup title. 

As the game ended, and as the spectators were busy disembarking the rusty chairs of VYBK, where the final will be held too, an elderly man was heard saying in Bengali “এভাবেও ফিরে আসা যায়?” (Is it even possible to come back like this?)

Much can be said about the onset of the match, with both the sides, for once, fielding their best sides the only surprise exclusion being that of Greg Stewart, who will be much mentioned towards the end of this article in the Situations part, however it will be prudent now to just focus on our upcoming opponent walloped Shillong Lajong 3-0 in their previous game to reach their first Durand Cup final ever, a miniscule number when you compare it to Mariners’ 30th. 

But for an analyst, unless you approach a game with the maximum conviction, and with a clear game plan, which the mariners couldn’t master till now, you will eventually have to rely on those comebacks in the last minute, giving your fans borderline hypertension, winning just by flexing your muscles and showing off the superiority of the personnel in your team, which unfortunately, won’t work everytime.

Talking about the Northeast game, and having watched about an hour of the replay, I can assure that the game was quite entertaining, but confusing from an analyst’s point of view. No consistent patterns of play from any side made it even difficult to determine the formation the teams were playing. 

However the game had certain openings which I am going to analyze in more detail later, The game seemed one-sided, but it was not, and even though their patterns worked big time against Shillong Lajong, we can counter them with ease if we stick to our plan, don’t over commit like the last two games and progress the ball with real purpose, we should be able to defend the silverware, but we, just like any other game, should proceed with caution. 

Obviously Northeast will have its own share of key performers aswell and it will be prudent  for me to shine some light  onto them first, as I think they  are heavily influential, or atleast can be! 

Northeast United, players to watch:-

Jithin M.S - The player, like many other Indian players, found his footing only towards the end of the last season but had been simply sensational thereon. A pacy winger, with a knack of taking onn oppositions, with utmost ease,  and a very good eye for crosses, both low and high, had been a bright spark for the highlanders in this Durand cup season. And considering how much our defence had been penetrated already,, there is no reason to not fear this type of winger facing our wide centrebacks. The Kerala Blasters reject has a point to prove, and will be key in this contest.

Allaeddin Ajeraie - The Ex-Rabat FC man whose academy produced gems like Amrabat, El Khannous and Cheddira, had a very solid start to his life with the highlanders. He might not be the tallest or the strongest but possesses a skillset very similar to someone like Julian Alvarez of Argentina, with his smart link up play, tireless workrate, pressing the opposition defenders the entire game and a very refined finishing. He even scored against Shillong Lajong and we have to be wary of him and his blindside runs as it can cause us troubles during counter-attacks.

How to effectively tackle The Highlanders


My main focus will be on how Northeast United attacked but let’s analyze their defensive shape first. But first, it will be prudent to inform the readers that for this particular game, Shillong played in red and the Highlanders in White. As we can see, unlike Bengaluru FC, Northeast United are not that compact, they aim to limit the spaces in wide areas and thus leave spaces in the centre, which someone like Stewart, the best ball progressor in the league, or Thapa, a born circulator, can exploit. 

I would also like Cummings to drop a bit deep and be involved a lot more like he did in the second half against bengaluru, and even though liston will eventually be man-marked, I will expect him to make the best decisions and help the team. I don’t know who Molina will play but I feel that Abhishek will be very helpful in the final as well, looking at how high their backline is in the above picture and knowing the youngster’s long-ball prowess. I personally feel he should even start over Apuia.


This snap was from a moment which I found interesting. As the defender was launching a pinged through ball to the player at the extreme left of the above picture, the Northeast players revealed their actual shape on the ball, which would give us a better idea of the threat they possess. 

The first interesting observation is how high their left back overlaps, temporarily making it a three at the back. But the shape should not be considered a three at the back too, plainly because of high their right back is. Even the winger who would eventually receive the lofted pass moved towards the touchline and tried to pull back the ball to the penalty box unsuccessfully. 

It simply proves that, they will always rely on their wide players both in attack and defence, and Jithin M.S, their Left Winger will also have an extra responsibility to carry their attack. Another interesting observation is the space between the forward line and the midfield, designed to cause chaos in case of rebounds and cut-backs. However as I mentioned before, even my keen eyes could not determine the formation they played.



Here will be a short analysis of the goal they scored, and it was a wonderfully crafted goal too, crafted brilliantly by the Highlanders wide players, the throw inn, taken quickly was beautifully held up by Albiach, the attacking midfielder of the Guwahati-based side and with a deft backheel, he released Jithin down the left. He forced his way into the box and with a low cross, found the onrushing Moroccan Ajeraie. We should try and limit those wide bursts from their wingers as much as we can and as effectively as we can.

Mohun Bagan's Current Situation

Much could be said about the mariners too as the Kolkata - based outfit somehow eventually got the job done after two setbacks just before and after the break. And even though we have every right to enjoy the victory, it must be said that this defence is not ready at all. 

As we are inching towards the end of pre-season, some glaring mistakes are being made, like both the Liston mistimed outside the box challenge for the penalty, which for me was very soft and the Apuia howler which made the BFC's second goal, which should be avoided at any cost going into the regular season. 

However I am very happy how Molina used Thapa, much deeper than the previous game to help him control the midfield and Circulate, which not only me myself, but also every mariners wanted for a long time. And talking about the Spanish coach, I was pleased with the timing of his substitutes too, bringing on Stewart and Ashish Rai at the best time possible.

Talking about the substitute, Stewart was phenomenal, and he effortlessly controlled the midfield when he came on, and I am not going to lie, it was expected! We bought him to be our primary ball carrier, and the onus was solely  on him, but I was pleasantly surprised about the other substitute, Ashish Rai, who, in my opinion, should have more minutes under his belt in the final. His low cross to Manvir made the first goal and he was very reliable defensively aswell.

A few critical remarks were made on our captain Subhasish Bose and how less reliable he will be with his repeated injuries this season, but I personally feel that he will be completely fine, players do tend to get injured during pre-season and that is absolutely normal, as they had been out of action for months before eventually returning to the field. 

However I do get the concerns and feel that an extra defender is needed in the last months of the window at any cost, else it will bite us in this long season, Alberto and Aldred continues to filter optimism and I believe both will be really needed here on. I also liked Dippendu and his reliability, and I believe that Molina who produced La Liga current star defenders like Sergi Cardona, Yarek Gasiorowski and Mosquera will develop the game of our local lad too.

About the attacking duo of Dimi and Cummings, I think they need a bit more time to understand each other better. I felt that they were not on the same wavelength sometimes which broke down some of our attacks, and I believe this will be reduced with more practice. Moreover Jamie McLaren is still injured before the final and as MBFT confirmed, there is nothing to fear, he will be available for the ISL opener against Mumbai City FC.

What said and done, we should now focus on what’s next. The campaign has not been smooth with chaos on and off the pitch, the current situation of our city made it impossible to restore parity and for a noble reason as well, yet it had been fun, the expectations and the feeling of coming back from all difficulties inside the pitch, and the feeling of contributing for the betterment of the society outside the pitch, and that’s what the club Mohun Bagan stands for and this is what is inscribed in our anthem, we sometimes play as a team, sometimes become the voice of the society, and sometimes represent the country and proudly raise her flag, and we will continue doing so till the end of time. But as of now, we await the Final Chapter of this wonderful ride we enjoyed.

Date and Time: August 31, 2024, 5.30 pm onwards.

Venue: Saltlake Stadium, Kolkata.

Livestream / Telecast: Sony Ten 2 (TV), Jio TV, Sony Liv (OTT)

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