I-League 2018-19: Minerva Punjab coach Paul Munster blames referees for loss to Mohun Bagan

Minerva Punjab FC coach Paul Munster was furious after their 0-2 loss to Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The Irishman thought that the penalty awarded to the visitors was not genuine, mentioning that the referee has ‘distorted’ the match by his decisions.

During the post-match press conference, he said, “No, we had a great gameplan which was distorted by the referee. In the penalty, Toure won the ball and we were in pressure after that.”

Not only that, he clearly mentioned that the referee was favouring the home side.

“The referee played into Mohun Bagan’s path. There were situations when they knew when they needed to dive and the referee fell for it. When Chothe fell, the referee didn’t give it. It was a hometown decision.

"I’m very disappointed with all the officials, all of them very poor. This country has a big potential of football, but the officials lost control of the game,” added the coach.

All eyes were on Mohun Bagan and their new tactician Khalid Jamil as the ‘Mariners’ went back to winning ways after a poor display in their last fixture against Real Kashmir FC last weekend.

Goals from Omar El Hussieny and Dipanda Dicka in either half gave the Kolkata giants a much-needed victory in the context of the I-League. Bagan is now placed at the 6th position with a collection of 18 points.

After an impressive start to the tie by both the sides, Bagan’s striker Dipanda Dicka was brought down by Minerva’s defender Lancine Toure inside the box. Egyptian playmaker scored form the spot to give the hosts the upper hand at the stroke of the half-hour mark.

Mohun Bagan was dominant in the second half with Sony Norde and Omar playing the lead role. It was Sony’s sublime pass during the 69th minute that pierced through Minerva’s defence and fell perfectly for Dipanda Dicka. The Cameroonian who was having a rough patch of late managed to get the ball past the shot-stopper to seal the deal for Mohun Bagan.

On the other hand, Bagan’s new coach Khalid Jamil credited the players for the win. “I’m very happy with the game. The players did all the good-work and motivated each other to play well. It’s because of the players that we won today,” said Khalid after the match.

Mohun Bagan will play their next match against NEROCA FC at the same venue this weekend while Minerva Punjab FC will play host to Kerala Gokulam FC on January 19.