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Mohun Bagan finally registered their first home win of this I-League season on Sunday. They defeated bottom-placed side Shillong Lajong 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium. After the away victory against Minerva Punjab, this is Mohun Bagan’s second successive win.
With this, the green and maroon side climbed to fifth place on the table with 15 points from nine matches, while Shillong Lajong’s misery continued for one more time as they remained on 11th with only four points from nine matches.
The last time Mohun Bagan won their home game in an I-League match was in January 7 this year, in the previous edition of the league, against Aizawl. This season, they drew with Aizawl and lost to Churchill Brothers and East Bengal in their previous three home matches.
Let us analyse the three reasons behind Mohun Bagan’s triumph:
#3 Omar-Yuta dominated on the midfield
In the Kolkata Derby, Mohun Bagan midfield was completely outplayed. There was no one who could hold the ball for some minutes other than Yuta Kinowaki. Omar Elhusseiny was wasteful and had to be substituted in the second half.
Against Minerva, they performed much better. But the performance of the midfielders against Shillong Lajong was simply the best. Credits should be given to Omar Elhusseiny and Yuta Kinowaki for producing a near flawless performance.
From the very first minute, the Egyptian and Japanese combination started making an impact. Omar was more lethal than his Japanese teammate. He was deployed in the central midfield position and he rattled Lajong defence with his skills. In fact, he could’ve scored the first goal but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa.
“He is a class player. He can control the ball and make vital passes. He is improving every day and we hope he helps the team more in future,” Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said after the match.
On the other hand, Kinowaki played more as a defensive blocker but moved forward whenever the team were attacking. His work-rate was more than any other player on the field.
But it was his goal which caught the eye. In the 47th minute, a defensive mistake from Aibanbha Dohling allowed some space to shoot and the Japanese used the opportunity beautifully as his calm finish thudded into the net.
#2 Lajong’s improved performance could not prevent Mohun Bagan from winning
Shillong Lajong came to this match after 6-1 drubbing against Real Kashmir. As usual, it was expected their confidence would be low. But surprisingly, they put up more inspiring performance this time.
Lajong are a young squad and they can surprise their opponents with sheer speed. They did that against Mohun Bagan too as the green and maroon defenders were caught off-guard. Samuel Lalmuanpuia and Pharngki Buam made some quick runs to dispossess Mohun Bagan defenders.
Lajong have scored at least once in all their previous matches except Indian Arrows. They nearly scored one against Mohun Bagan too. However, Samuel Kynshi’s shot was brilliantly saved by Sankar Roy.
It was again the defenders who let their team down. To resist Mohun Bagan strikers, Lajong were crowding the defence. Sometimes, the midfielders were also doubling up defenders. They were more responsible in the first half, not allowing too much space to opponent strikers and clearing the ball to safety zone every time, leaving the opponent strikers frustrated.
They couldn’t hold it for long though as two costly mistakes in the second half allowed Mohun Bagan to score. Firstly, Aibhanba Dohling put the ball on Yuta’s feet while making a clearance. The defenders made a mess while clearing the ball again before Henry Kisekka scored.
Even coach Alison Kharsintiew conceded after the match, “Defence is one of our weak point and we will try to improve that in future.”
#1 Mohun Bagan played more aggressively in the second half
Against a relatively weaker team, Mohun Bagan took the control of the match right from the first minute. They were keeping the ball in their feet and were making some quick attacks. But they were lacking a finisher.
Cameroonian Dipanda Dicka was playing as a lone striker while Ugandan Henry Kisekka was deployed as a left winger. Both of them were wasteful in the first period. Dicka failed to utilise his chances, while Kisekka was blocked by Lajong defence time and again.
However, their performance improved so much in the second half. Even before Lajong could settle, Kinowaki scored from a scorcher to put his team on the lead. The performance of Dicka and Kisekka too improved as they kept the ball more on their feet and waited for chances.
Regarding the missing chances in the first half, coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said after the match, “There is no rule that we have to score in the first half. We knew they would defend with nine players. So, I told them to be patient and wait for the chance. Also, they had to keep the ball more on their feet. Thankfully, boys obliged my instruction.”
