The 2017 I-League season is in its last legs with only three more rounds of games left to play. With their 1–1 draw against Shillong Lajong in Shillong yesterday, Mohun Bagan sneaked past Aizawl FC to the top of the table.
The Mariners are ahead of the Mizoram-based club on head to head record, although both teams are level on points. Their clash on the 22nd of April in the altitudes of the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl promises to be a title decider.
East Bengal in third are also in with a chance of lifting the title should the front-runners stumble; the Red and Golds are three points behind the top two and still have a mathematical possibility of winning the I-League.
That said, Mohun Bagan look odds-on to land their second I-League title, and here are five reasons why.
#1 Miserly Defence
The Mariners’ primary back four of Eduardo, Anas Edathodika, Subhasish Bose and Pritam Kotal have been instrumental in the club’s rise to the top of the table. As things stand after 15 games, Bagan have conceded the fewest number of goals this season with 10.
Their nearest challengers for the title, Aizawl and East Bengal, have conceded 12 and 13 goals respectively.
One of the common aphorisms in football is “attack wins games, defence wins titles”. This should once again ring true should Mohun Bagan go on to lift the title. And despite boasting a miserly defence, the fact that it hasn’t come at the cost of the team’s attack is a testament to the work being done so far by Sanjoy Sen and his team.
The club’s record so far of eight clean sheets is also the highest in the I-League this season.
#2 They have hit peak form at the right time
Mohun Bagan were off-colour in their 1–1 draw with Shillong Lajong this week which is understandable since they played three matches in ten days prior to their trip to Meghalaya. In those three matches, the Mariners swept aside defending champions Bengaluru and fierce local rivals East Bengal in the league, while also beating Bangladeshi outfit Abahani in the AFC Cup.
The wins in the big games before the stalemate against Lajong mean Bagan have momentum on their side. With the Aizawl game their only remaining big match on paper, coupled with their good run of form, Bagan have most things going their way at the business end of this campaign.
#3 Bagan don’t know what losing is like
The Mariners have lost only once this season which was a shock 2–1 defeat at the hands of Churchill Brothers. That debacle aside, Bagan have not lost a single match this season and have been in winning positions for more number of minutes than any other club this season.
Their 499 minutes in winning positions is the league highest. While that is only three more minutes than East Bengal, the big differential is the amount of time Bagan have spent in losing positions compared to the other top sides.
The Mariners’ 95 minutes spent in losing positions is the league lowest this season. To add context, East Bengal have spent 244 minutes and Aizawl have spent 118 minutes in losing positions. Bagan have been in control of almost all their matches this season, and there is no reason to believe things won’t remain the same for the season’s final straight.
#4 They have the attack to fire them to glory
Despite their mean defence, Mohun Bagan are also one of the I-League’s prominent attacking clubs. With 24 goals, they are behind only East Bengal in the scoring charts. Darryl Duffy, their Scottish striker, is the club’s top scorer with seven goals.
Apart from Duffy, seven other players have chipped in with goals, including midfielder Katsumi Yusa and defender Pritam Kotal.
Bagan’s spread of goals stands them in good stead for the remainder of this season. They will be safe in the knowledge of the fact that almost anyone can get on the scoresheet, while opponents will be worried about their all-round attacking threat.
Furthermore, star attacker Sony Norde has been in fine form of late and could prove to be the difference between winning and losing the title.
#5 Title-winning experience
While most neutrals would love it should Aizawl do the impossible possible by winning the I-League title this season, Mohun Bagan are the favourites just because they have been there and done that in the past. The Mariners are no strangers to the pressures of a title race, while Aizawl are already showing signs of nerves, having dropped four points in their last two games.
Bagan are the second most successful club in Indian football with four titles since the advent of the National Football League, their latest win coming in 2015. With their pedigree, it is difficult not to see the Mariners being crowned the champions. However, stranger things have happened in football, but the ball now is well and truly in Bagan’s court as far as this season’s title race is concerned.
