Mohun Bagan draws against Mumbai, despite a 2-0 first half lead!

bySREYAS MUKHERJEE -

Mohun Bagan draws against Mumbai, despite a 2-0 first half lead!

Pic Courtesy : ISL Media

Bagan’s win drought against Mumbai City in their home continues as the ISL champions bottled a 2-0 lead to a 2-2 draw on Saturday at the Mumbai Football Arena.This game gave us an exact flashback of the reverse fixture where Bagan botched yet another 2-0 lead with another last minute equaliser from Krouma.

Mohun Bagan Lineups: Vishal (Gk), Saurabh, Aldred, Dippendu, Subhashis (c), Abhishek, Deepak, Manvir, Petratos, Liston, Maclaren.

Subs: Dheeraj(Gk),Thapa, Stewart, Ashique, Ashish, Alberto,Glan,Apuia,Suhail.

Mumbai City F.C. lineups: Lachenpa (Gk), Valpuia, Krouma, Tiri, Sahil, Toral, Van Nieff, Brandon, Vikram Partap, Chhangte (c), Bipin.

Subs:Rehenesh(Gk), Ortiz, Rane, Nathan, Ayush, Karelis, Nazareth, Hitesh, Prabir.


Pic Courtesy : ISL Media

The match was a dead rubber for the Champions but was of great significance to the Islanders as their playoff qualification was at stake. But the Mariners were not going to take the game easily as they were desperate to improve their dismal record against last season’s cup winners. Both the teams have been competing for domestic dominance since the induction of Bagan into the ISL and have come out as two of the most dominant and consistent teams of the country. The rivalry between the two have produced some of the most memorable matches in ISL history and the same was expected on that day as well. 

The champs began the half on an attacking note as Macca tried his luck from distance in the 7th minute, thus making their intent clear. Both teams were going back and forth and aiming for the first break through. The Islanders got a great chance in the 24th minute with Toral extending a wonderful ball to Bipin but Kaith came out early and thwarted the danger.But it was Mohun Bagan who were the ones to strike first as a mis-clearance from Van Nieff in the 32nd minute set Maclaren through who had only the goalkeeper to beat and he finished without any complications. It was 1-0 to Bagan.

The goal was a huge setback to the Islanders and their playoff chances and they were desperate for a comeback.Brandon took a shot from distance in the 36th minute in hopes of a goal but was saved comfortably by Kaith. But the situation got from bad to worse as a darting Liston run combined with a rebound finish from our golden man Petratos gave Bagan the much needed 2 goal cushion. Mumbai were completely bamboozled by the attacking prowess of the Mariners.Desperate forma comeback,Chhangte had another chance at the very end as he tried a shot from distance which was somehow saved by Kaith.Vikram tried to wrestle off the ball from Vishal and thus was given a yellow.At the break, it was 2-0 to the Mariners.

The 2nd half started with Mumbai City aiming to draw level. They went on an attacking spree from the very beginning with the likes of Toral, Bipin, Chhangte and Van Nieff. They got a great chance at the 50th minute again through Toral but missed. A handball appeal against Subhashis also happened during this period but the referee overruled it sighting that the hand was part of the natural movement of the body and didn’t affect the ball. But their attacking strategy did pay off as they pulled one back from a pinball type corner thanks to Toral. But just as the Islanders were looking poised for a comeback, disaster struck as Vikram Partap was sent off after he received his 2nd yellow for engaging in a scuffle with Subhashis. It was a big blow to Mumbai as it seemed that they were getting settled to the pace of the game. But to everyone’s surprise, Mumbai City didn't back down and continued their attacks. Van Nieff and Toral were at the forefront of these attacks while Tiri and Krouma were omnipresent whenever their was any need for an aerial threat. It felt as if the Mariners were a goal and a man down not Mumbai. And as the saying goes,’Luck favours the brave’, Mumbai got their reward at the very end in the 89th minute through Nathan Fernandes in another clumsy  affair. Thus,the comeback was completed for the home side. Although being a man up, Bagan had no answers for Mumbai in the 2nd half and they  completely botched up yet another opportunity to defeat their main competitors Mumbai. 

Player Ratings:

Vishal Kaith: 7.5/10

Good shotstopping but could have been better. He fumbled in the 89th minute which led to the goal.

Subhashis: 8/10

Took a huge workrate,played more of a defensive role full back role rather than coming forward. Earned us the red card.

Dippendu: 7/10

Made some crucial interceptions, which could have been resulted in a Goal!

Bhanwala:7/10

Brilliant performance from the guy, who started his first game for the club!

Abhishek: 6.5/10

Good but should have intercepted more passes.

Deepak: 7/10

Tried his very best, but was overdoing sometimes!

Petratos: 9/10

Best player for Bagan in the match. Scored the 2nd goal and was the only player in the Mariner squad on Saturday to bring some creativity in the game.

Manvir: 7/10

Made some darting runs but was not at his best!

Liston: 8/10

Chief architect of the 2nd goal. Also tried some long rangers.

Maclaren: 8.5/10

Socred the opener. Clinical and made good off the ball movements.

Subs:

Ashique: 7/10

Came on in the 64th minute for Bose.Was not very effective in the attack but held his ground in defence 

Ashish:7/10

Came on in the 64th minute for Saurabh. Average performance.

Thapa: 6.5/10

Came on in the 81st minute for Abhishek. Didn’t get the required matchtime to leave any impressions.

Stewart: 6.5/10

Came on in the 84th minute for Macca. Didn’t get the time to show his magic.

Saturday’s performance was a bit sloppy from Mohun Bagan standards.Although the Mariners have won the league,this type of dismal 2nd half performance against a 10 man side is not acceptable at all from a champion side like Bagan.Credit to Kratky as well as his tactics were on point.

The Champions will face 2nd placed Goa at home on the 8th of March in their last league match of the season.And as the boys in Maroon aim for the double,the match against the Gaurs would be a great litmus test for the whole squad as well as a chance of redemption for their defeat in the reverse fixture.

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SREYAS MUKHERJEE

HELLO GUYS,I AM SREYAS,A STUDENT,SPORTS LOVER AND A SCIENCE GEEK.I WRITE REGULAR ARTICLES AND BLOGS.HOPE THESE ARE WILL BE HELPFUL FOR YOU AND YOU FIND THESE INFORMATIVE.PLEASE SHARE YOUR OPINIONS IN THE COMMENTS.THANK YOU.

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