I-League 2018-19: 3 reasons why Real Kashmir FC lost to Mohun Bagan

Real Kashmir Football Club have lost their second successive match in the I-League. This time against Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan when they went down by a 0-1 margin at the TRC Turf Ground in Srinagar on Tuesday afternoon.

After beating defending champions Minerva Punjab, Real Kashmir FC announced their arrival in the I-League. With a bunch of talented local youngsters, Real Kashmir FC were hoping for a new dawn through football in the war-torn region.

But with every match, their task is getting tougher. They may have come here winning the second division, but the top division is totally of a different level with so many well-known teams in the ranks. Real Kashmir is getting the taste finally.

Real Kashmir FC played attacking football right from the start and went in search for a goal. But they couldn’t capitalise their chances. Mohun Bagan on the other hand, opted for a wait and watch policy and utilised their only real opportunity that came in their way.

Henry Kisekka wore a deserted look for the most part of the match but in the 70th minute, he shook past a couple of defenders with his brilliant skills and crossed into the box, where Dipanda Dicka was waiting and the Cameroonian calmly headed the ball into the net.

With this win, Mohun Bagan leapt to the second position with eight points from four matches. Real Kashmir FC remained on eighth with four points from as many matches.

We now look at three reasons behind Real Kashmir’s loss:

#3 Small defensive mistakes costing the game for Real Kashmir FC

Real Kashmir FC were beaten because of their own mistakes

In their last match against NEROCA FC, Real Kashmir FC conceded two goals cheaply. Felix Chidi scored both the goals from an unmarked position. It seems the Srinagar-based club failed to learn from their mistakes. Dicka scored from a similarly unmarked position.

Real Kashmir FC have Loveday Okechukwu and Mason Robertson in their heart of defence. Both are trustable in terms of their performance.

In spite of relentless pressures from two dangerous strikers Henry Kisekka and Dipanda Dicka, the defenders stood tall and never allowed a space to score.

Robertson put up an inspiring performance as he kept both the strikers under tight surveillance. He also contributed when his team was attacking.

Loveday was also strong in terms of his presence. But it is the small mistakes that denied them a point.

It was a momentary loss of concentration. Kisekka – who for a major part of the match was unnoticed – easily dribbled past three defenders and crossed in the box. Dicka was in right place at the right time to nod the ball home.

None of the two Real Kashmir FC defenders who were present in the box marked the Cameroonian.

One more problem for them is the lack of communication. The defender should talk between them more often. Also, the goalkeeper should instruct his players whenever they are out of their position.

#2 Patience paid off for Mohun Bagan

Apart from Real Kashmir FC, Mohun Bagan had two other opponents coming into this match – the chilling cold at a higher altitude and the Astroturf of TRC ground. As a result, they opted for wait-and-watch policy.

Mohun Bagan were trying to get them acclimatized with the condition. In the first half an hour of the game, the visitors were sitting back and defending.

They were relying mostly on counter attacks but nothing fruitful came out from there. Their aim was to sustain the pressure on their opponent.

Mohun Bagan didn’t play too many ground passes in the first half, maybe to keep their energy at a high altitude and opted for long balls directed to the strikers, which they failed to capitalise.

The Kolkata giants came out with a different approach in the second half and were looking for an early goal. Omar Elhusseiny, Yuta Kinowaki and Sourav Das were dominating the midfield.

However, there was no real chance thanks to the Real Kashmir defenders but Mohun Bagan kept their patience. And that finally paid off in the 70th minute when Dicka scored the only goal of the match.

#1 Real Kashmir FC over-dependent on Krizo

Real Kashmir FC have scored their only one goal in the last four matches and that came from there Ivorian striker Gnohere Krizo. It seems the players and the coach are too much dependent on him.

Krizo has good physique and skills. He can control the ball well and can create space to shoot.

But he has one bad tendency, to keep the ball for too much time. Against Mohun Bagan, every time he got the ball, he tried to keep it as long as possible and ultimately failed to utilise the opportunity.

He should know he can’t get past 10 defenders at once. The coach should instruct him to pass the ball to any of his teammate who is standing in an advantageous position.

Also, Real Kashmir FC should shake off their over-dependence of Krizo. Whenever a Real Kashmir player gets the ball, he looks nowhere else and passes it to the Ivorian.

As a result, the Ivorian feels lonely upfront. There was no one who could’ve combined well with Krizo.

Danish Farooq played as a right winger but he failed to live up his reputation. He also played selfishly, keeping the ball too much on his feet and getting out-possessed.

The one player who tried his best was Bazie Armand but his effort wasn’t enough for his team.

Edited by Alan John