Mohun Bagan walked away with the bragging rights as they trounced Shillong Lajong FC, riding on Scottish striker, Darryl Duffy’s brace.
Bagan meant business right from the outset. Both the preceptors made a couple of changes to their respective teams that featured in the previous round encounters. Sanjoy Sen of Mohun Bagan brought in Shouvik Ghosh in place of Subasish, who was red carded in the last match. His second change to the side was Ryanair Fernandes who came in place of Kean Lewis as the U-22 player of the team.
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Thingboi Singto brought in Zodingliana Ralte and Asier Pierre Dipanda in place of Hardy Cliff and Redeem Tlang. Both the teams duked it out and Mohun Bagan eventually came out as the better of the two after Duffy netted a brace.
We now look at five points that were imperative in crafting the match:
#1 Darryl Duffy made the difference
Former Hull City striker, Darryl Duffy came out on the field despite suffering a bout of fever. There was no looking back for him from there.
He started the match as an untoward central attacking midfielder instead of his usual striker position. It was pretty evident that he was persevering right from the kick-off. Barring his spirited attempts upfront, his runs down the midfield and his constant chasing of the ball caused some chaos in the Lajong defence.
7 minutes into the game, Duffy begot a delectable through-ball for Balwant, however, the latter failed to latch onto it. In the 22nd minute, Duffy stamped his class as he went on to score a gem of a goal, calmly placing the ball out of reach of Vishal Kaith’s extended arm.
Veteran defender, Kingshuk Debnath sent in a delightful long ball which was deftly received by Duffy in the penalty box of Lajong and with a tantamount adept touch he went past Romanian defender, Dan Ignat and curled the ball into the net, drawing first blood for Bagan.
In the 65th minute, the Scot, was oozing confidence when he sped past a couple of Lajong defenders to send in a feeble cross which was waylaid and steered to safety before it reached Katsumi.
Duffy was rewarded handsomely for his salvo when he notched up the second goal for himself and his team. He tapped the ball in with composure after Balwant Singh squared him a lovely ball which he received from the Indian international, Pronay Halder. Halder sent in a dipping cross which was received well by Balwant who in turn set Duffy up for a second goal which the Scotsman polished off in style.
He was also declared the man of the match for his performance on the night.
#2 Bagan extremely solid at the back
One of the most notable facets for Bagan’s consecutive victories was their defence. The Bagan defence comprised the likes of Pritam Kotal, Anas Edathodika, Shouvik Ghosh and Kingshuk Debnath. Barring Ghosh, all the other three seemed in sublime touch and constantly guarded the Bagan fortress right till the end.
Kingshuk led the charge in defence as he marshalled the rest of the defenders and thwarted most of the forays from Lajong. Edathodika though was the pick of the slew as he was the toughest defender to get past.
A man with a burly stature, Anas made sure that every single tackle he went for was spick and span. The best part about him was his speed. He seemed absolutely insuperable when he ran along with the Lajong attackers and kept anything and everything that came his way, at bay.
Pritam Kotal was once again phenomenal as he chipped in with stellar crosses and cut-ins. Laced with his overlaps, the feature that made him invincible was his ability to intercept. Kotal could have easily notched himself a second and third assist in today’s match but Duffy failed to convert.
Ghosh was the sole defender who seemed pale vis-à-vis the remaining three. This could have been attributed to his lack of match practice. He donned the Mohun Bagan jersey after quite some time and seemed to be lacking some sharpness when it mattered the most.
The best of Ghosh came in the 33rd minute when he blasted a free-kick but the ball missed the net by a whisker.
Another notable name on the night was Sehnaj Singh. He was not a part of the defence but he cast a defensive screen over the rearguard that made life hell for the Lajong attackers. He had to be taken off the field when he sustained an injury in the 63rd minute.
#3 Lajong’s profligacy cost them dear
Lajong could have easily staged a comeback into the game had they kept their composure. They frittered away multiple opportunities which could have easily changed the course of the game.
Their skipper, Dan Ignat was clear on goal and could have drawn first blood but failed to keep the ball under control. Lajong’s new recruit, Aser Dipanda showed signs of promise when he blasted a shot at Debjit, who came up with an equally stunning save.
Soon after, Lajong was once again on the hunt when Zodingliana, who came into the team in place of Redeem Tlang, shot straight at Debjit.
The best chance of the game fell to Fabio Pena whose header sailed over the bar from point-blank range. As Bipin Singh curled in a corner, it was headed in to Pena by Isaac but the latter was not up to the task and sent the ball flying over the woodwork.
Lajong seemed a lot more vicious and upbeat in the second half, though.
Within 5 minutes of the restart, they produced two chances and both of them were headed over by Dipanda and Pena. Lajong jousted with Bagan till the very end despite trailing by two goals as Alan Deory, the U-22 recruit took a shy at goal in the dying stages of the game but Debjit comfortably collected it.
#4 Lajong’s youth played an integral part in keeping the match evenly poised
An outfit’s biggest strength is its bunch of youth players. Lajong’s repertoire comprised a total of seven U-22 players.
Starting from the custodian, Vishal Kaith to defenders Nimdorjee Tamang, Chinglensana Singh, Zodingliana; midfielders, Isaac, Pritam Kumar Singh, and Bipin Singh all were U-22 flairs. They didn’t exude sheer brilliance but definitely oozed confidence and an indomitable will to fight. If properly nurtured, they can actually go on to be world beaters.
Zodingliana was in the thick of things as he constantly delivered fabulous crosses to his strikers.
In the 24th minute, Zodingliana came tantalisingly close to scoring but his final shot was well saved by the Bagan keeper.
Once again, similar to the previous chance, Zodingliana was good enough to dodge past Shouvik Ghosh but his final shot seemed toothless as once again Debjit collected the ball comfortably.
One of the primary reasons for a spirited performance from Lajong in the beginning of the second-half was the 21-year-old. He whipped in two back-to-back free-kicks only for Pena and Dipanda to head it over.
Barring Zodingliana, the duo of Isaac and Bipin Singh seemed to be an internecine one too. They played pressing football and the balls that they delivered in the attacking third of Bagan were delightful.
However, a lack of experience and sting, in the end, cost them dearly.
#5 Sanjoy Sen’s tactical brilliance
With a plastered arm, Sanjoy Sen seemed edgy before the match started. When the team list came out, there were significant changes and Duffy seemed to be a gamble, given his condition. Another gamble from was to drop his in-form player Kean Lewis to accommodate U-22 debutant, Fernandes.
Bagan began the match in emphatic fashion. Katsumi was tasked with the responsibility of filling in the boots of Lewis and playing on the left flank which used to be his position before he switched to a much more central role and he came out with flying colours.
Not only did he receive the ball adeptly, but he also ran down both the flanks with equal dexterity and whipped in some sublime crosses.
The selection of the U-22 midfielder, Fernandes, was probably the best and one of the most audacious decisions taken by Sen. Fernandes was phenomenal in today’s game. His scintillating speed and movement of the ball left the Lajong defenders flummoxed.
Early in the game, he had to be stymied by a body block when Zodingliana brought him crashing down to the ground. He spawned a peach of a long-ball for Katsumi who failed to keep his shot on target despite a stellar run down the left.
Fernandes made way for an experienced Prabir in the 69th minute to a standing ovation.
Souvik Chakrabarti and Sehnaj Singh played anchors in the Mohun Bagan midfield. Souvik connected the defence with the attack up front. He was extremely industrious as he laid the foundation for Bagan to make inroads at will.
Sehnaj, as well, stood tall and was instrumental in marshalling his troops from the back.
Bagan would definitely relish the night as they were able to log full points. However, there are a few glitches that will need to be fixed if they are to challenge for the title.
