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Overview
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It was another low-scoring round in the Airtel I-League with only 11 goals in five matches. The goal ratio after the first 16 games of the season is only 2.13 while the average was 2.91 overall last campaign. There haven’t been too many standout teams with most clubs not even in action for all three rounds but debutants Bengaluru FC has caught the attention. I-League’s newest club not only leads the I-League table but have also impressed off the pitch with their dedication towards enhancing their brand by giving a lot of importance to their growing fanbase.
The city of Bangalore has responded well with an average attendance of around 7000 for their first three matches, which is a very good number considering the usual standards of the I-League. So the AIFF’s decision to include a franchise team like the JSW-owned club is paying dividends but it’s their performances on the pitch that has been even more impressive.
While some clubs have struggled to get going under a new coach or haven’t been in the best physical shape early in the season, Bengaluru FC have looked well organised from match one with every player knowing their roles very well and they have also played some attractive football. The centre-back pairing of John Johnson and Curtis Osano has been by far the best in the league so far with the former also contributing with two goals while the other two foreigners John Menyongar and Sean Rooney have also looked in good shape.
Coach Ashley Westwood should be also given credit for bringing the best out of some of the young Indian players like Vishal Kumar and Beikhokhei Beingaichho. It’s worth noting that Bengaluru FC have enjoyed home comforts in all three of their matches so far and that will remain the case for their next two matches too. So tougher tests lie ahead and hence it’s premature to call them title contenders but the newly-formed club is already one of the success stories of this season’s I-League.
Bangalore hasn’t been the only venue witnessing good turnouts. Shillong has had an average attendance of around 20,000 and that number could rise as the season progresses because they have two I-League clubs now. The Shillong duo had mixed fortunes in round three though as Lajong suffered their first defeat while Rangdajied registered their first-ever point in the top flight.
The league title has been won by Goan clubs for the last seven seasons but this time after three rounds, teams from that region have struggled with Salgaocar being the only side with a 100 percent record so far. Sporting got their first victory but defending champions Churchill Brothers and record five-time winners Dempo are worryingly still winless. Churchill Brothers in particularly have been disappointing with no goals in their first three matches and on paper at least they look set for a difficult season unless changes are made in the foreign department.
The big two of Kolkata were not in action but Mohammedan Sporting and United SC both suffered defeats. While United SC suffered only their first loss, Mohammedan Sporting were thumped by Salgaocar and thus have had a nightmare return to the top flight as they lost both their opening matches.
Results
Rangdajied United 2-2 Dempo; Shillong Lajong 0-1 Sporting Clube; Churchill Brothers 0-2 Mumbai FC; Salgaocar 3-0 Mohammedan Sporting; Bengaluru FC 1-0 United SC.
Game of the round
Rangdajied United 2-2 Dempo
Rangdajied United got their first-ever point against Dempo
There was plenty of excitement surrounding this fixture as it was Rangdajied’s first-ever home game in the I-League and it turned out to be quite an eventful one with both sides sharing the points in the end. Rangdajied’s survival hopes would depend heavily on their home form so a draw isn’t really the best result but the manner in which it was earned will give them a lot of self-confidence for the rest of the campaign while Dempo will look back at the game as two points dropped because they threw away a two-goal first half lead.
Despite the absence of head coach Arthur Papas, who has gone to Australia to sort out some visa issues, Dempo finally played to their full potential in the first half of this game and silenced the 15,000 passionate home fans. Goals from Beto and Billy Mehmet saw them cruising at the break but the Goan club dropped their tempo in the second half and allowed Rangdajied to get back into the contest.
Young Lalnunpuia scored the Shillong club’s first-ever I-League goal at the hour mark and then ten minutes from the 90, young Sandesh Gadkari made it to 2-2 much to the frustration of Dempo assistant coach Mauricio Afonso. The result left Dempo winless after three rounds while it should give Rangdajied coach Santosh Kashyap some hope for the upcoming matches.
Result of the round
Churchill Brothers 0-2 Mumbai FC
Mumbai FC are still unbeaten
Khalid Jamil is currently in his fifth season as Mumbai FC head coach and that stability has been instrumental in the Mumbai club’s unbeaten start in this campaign. The former India international has also made some shrewd additions to the squad with two of them getting on the scoresheet in an impressive 2-0 away win over I-League holders Churchill Brothers.
Mumbai FC are not pleasing on the eye but have always been very well organised under Jamil and they seemed to have further improved in that department this season. In the previous campaigns under the coaching of the former India midfielder, the Mumbai club has drawn a lot games but the signings of experienced players like Climax Lawrence, Anwar Ali and Valeriano Rebello could convert many of those draws into wins this term.
The experience of that trio and Afghanistan captain Zohib Islam Amiri played a key role in their win over Churchill Brothers. If Orok Essien, who scored the opener, newly signed Afghan striker Sandjar Ahmadi and veteran Yusif Yakubu can be prolific this Mumbai team could even challenge for a top four place.
As for Churchill Brothers, this game once again exposed their weaknesses. The Goan club look a much weaker squad compared to last season especially in attack and also lack match winners. They are overdependent on Gabon striker Henri Antchouet and since he had another bad day, the forward line looked toothless against a stubborn Mumbai FC defence. Things could have been different had Antchouet converted his spot kick but overall there are plenty of concerns for the legendary Sukhwinder Singh and if it’s not sorted any time soon, the Red Machines could be out of title contention even before the midway point of the season.
Best Players
Foreigner – John Johnson (Bengaluru FC)
The former Middlesbrough defender has adapted quite well to the Indian conditions and has stamped his authority on the I-League already. Johnson’s best performance though came yesterday against United SC as he kept Ranti Martins quiet by winning almost every aerial ball and also netted the winner.
Indian – Climax Lawrence (Mumbai FC)
The former India captain was denied a new contract by Dempo but his performance against Churchill Brothers proved that he remains one of the best central midfielders in the country. Climax outperformed current India medio Lenny Rodrigues and also got on the scoresheet to seal the points for his new club.
Controversy
Just like round two, there was another organisational failure in a Shillong Lajong home game but this time the club can’t be blamed. The problem was with the floodlights of Shillong’s Jawaharlal Stadium which took more than half an hour to start functioning and hence led to a huge stoppage in the game between Lajong and Sporting Clube. The match kicked off in the afternoon but floodlights were needed as the light faded and it brought the match to a halt in the 72nd minute.
The other controversy took place in Bangalore where United SC coach Eelco Schattorie was sent off from the technical area for apparently arguing with the fourth official. The Dutchman hit back after the match by claiming that the fourth referee had never played the beautiful game. Bengaluru FC have had good home support so far and the crowd showed on Sunday that they can make life difficult for the opponents as they were disrespectful towards Arjuna Awardee Deepak Mondal after his late challenge on Keegan Pereira.
Table
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | GD |
| Bengaluru FC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | +4 |
| Salgaocar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +4 |
| United SC | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | +3 |
| Mumbai FC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | +2 |
| Pune FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | +2 |
| Shillong Lajong | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | +2 |
| Sporting Clube | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -1 |
| Mohun Bagan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Dempo | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -3 |
| Churchill Brothers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -3 |
| Rangdajied United | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -5 |
| East Bengal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammedan Sporting | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -5 |
