Mohun Bagan eked out a hard-fought victory against Chennai City FC after they came back from behind to knock in two goals. Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sony Norde were on target for Bagan while Brazilian Marcos Vinicius scored the first goal for Chennai.
Vinicius drew first blood for Chennai City as he took advantage of a howler from Eduardo Ferreira. Ferreira, in an attempt to dribble the ball past Vinicius aka Tank, ended up gifting the ball to the forward.
Trending
The joy for the hosts was, however, short-lived as Jeje restored parity for the visitors when he flicked the ball in from close range after some stupendous work on the left wing by Sony Norde.
The Haitian star was the hero for Bagan again as he made up for his missed penalty, scoring the winner from a delightful long ball from Balwant. We will now sneak a peek into the five talking points that tipped the scales of the game:
#1 Sony Norde reigns supreme again
The man who was in the thick of things right from the first whistle to the last was Sony Norde. The Haitian had joined Mohun Bagan in the last match after missing the first two matches due to national duty. Sony held sway in the previous victory of Bagan as well, chipping in with valuable crosses and always keeping the Minerva custodian on his toes. It wasn’t any different in the encounter against Chennai either.
As early as in the 2nd minute, he sent in a scouring cross after another terrific run down the left, past Clement. The Chennai skipper, however, came to bail out his team, blocking the cross.
Norde could have notched himself up an early goal when young Subashish Bose sent in a delectable long ball for Sony, whose tame shot was collected by Karanjit. Minutes later, he unleashed another long-range shot from a rebound but the ball sailed over.
Norde earned Bagan the best opportunity of the half when he was tripped by Joseph Clement. In order to oust him of possession, he ended up putting too much power in his push which landed the Haitian on the ground and the referee straight away pointed to the spot.
Norde stepped up but to his disappointment, Karanjit pulled off a stunning save diving to his right to deny Bagan a goal.
He was back in the thick of things soon as and took on an inexorable run down the left wing and sped past three defenders in a canter. His brilliance was on show when he nutmegged the final defender to square off to Jeje, who calmly sent the ball home to restore parity.
Sony’s salvo finally paid dividends when he scored his first goal of the I-league. Balwant Singh, who came on as a substitute for the injured Darryl Duffy, whipped in a peach of a pass for Norde who latched onto it and slammed the ball past an onrushing Karanjit Singh, making it 2-1.
Ultimately the Haitian’s brilliance in the midfield was too hot for Chennai to handle.
#2 Karanjit Singh’s memorable return
Had it not been for Karanjit Singh’s doggedness under the woodwork, Chennai could have lost the match in the first-half itself. Right since the outset, Karanjit came up with stunning saves on the bounce.
As early as in the 7th minute, Norde came menacingly close to scoring but his tame shot was blocked by Karanjit, who refused to wilt under pressure.
He came up with a stellar save again a few minutes later when he denied Norde for the second time. This time he cleared his lines too. Subasish Bose tried his hand in taking a long range effort but Karanjit gripped the ball on the rebound.
In the very next minute, he once again proved to be a bulwark to Darryl Duffy who couldn’t get the better of the veteran custodian.
The most exultant moment of the match for this former JCT player was when he made another stunning save, diving to his right to deny Sony Norde’s spot-kick, keeping things level, for the hosts.
Things weren’t any different in the second half. Jeje squared to Katsumi brilliantly, whose shot was again saved by Karanjit.
Barring the two goals, which he could do little about, the keeper stood tall and strong.
#3 Chennai’s organised defence
Chennai were phenomenal in defence right from the get-go. With experienced campaigners like Iche and Ravanan, they were expected to put up a fight. Right from the game’s outset, Chennai exuded sheer tenacity and grit. They never let their guard down until Ravanan was compelled to leave the field after sustaining a cramp.
Yumnam Raju was also sensational for the hosts. Despite being booked early in the game, he kept his spirits high. Quite a few tactical challenges coupled with blocks against a careening Katsumi kept his side in the game.
Haroon Amiri came up with a few stunning blocks on either side of half-time as well. Iche made the fullest use of his height, thwarting any aerial balls that came his way. However, his tardiness could have cost him dearly if not for Ravanan’s brilliance.
Till Bagan’s first goal, the rearguard of Chennai seemed pretty airtight. However, after conceding the goal they started to wilt under pressure. With their skipper already taken off the field in the first-half, they lacked the presence of a proper vanguard who could take up the reins in the defence.
#4 Charles and Marcos’ wastefulness
Despite Mohun Bagan’s dominance in the first half, Chennai were able to wring out a few chances. However, the two Brazilian giants up front failed to convert those chances.
Charles had all the time in the world to slot the ball home in the early stages of the game. However, his obtuse shot was blocked by a diving Subasish. Charles was again set free after playing a crisp one-two with Marcos, but his shot was blocked by Bikramjit Singh.
He then had the best chance of the game when he picked up a long ball from Dhanpal Ganesh. However, Charles shot it straight at a darting Debjit and the rebound was cleared by Bikramjit.
Barring the goal from Marcos, things didn’t go well for the Brazilian duo up top.
Charles was especially wasteful as unleashed a powerful attempt in the latter stages of the game only for Debjit to pull off a stunning save.
#5 A nip and tuck battle in the midfield kept the game alive
Both the teams played an impeccable game in the midfield. Chennai’s defence and midfield combined brilliantly to soak up pressure and then hit their opponents on the break. Starting from Dhanpal Ganesh to Denson Devdas, all of the midfielders were up to the task.
Ganesh was indeed the best amongst the midfielders. He delivered valuable crosses to his strikers and also tracked back and helped out in defence.
For Bagan, Katsumi and Norde made life hell for both Chennai wingbacks. Given their incessant runs down the wings, the defenders were forced back and could not contribute much up front.
Souvik Chakraborty was once again brilliant in the midfield, providing the link between Katsumi and Norde. He also played the role of a defensive screen alongside Bikramjit Singh and Pronay Halder whenever needed.
Marcos Vinicius was adjudged the Man of the Match for his goal.
