I-League 2018-19: “Missed chances cost us two points,” says Mohun Bagan coach after 2-2 draw

Mohun Bagan were sniffing victory until the David Lanrinmuana scored in the injury time with a sumptuous free-kick to ensure all but one point for his team Aizawl FC. The green-and-maroon, on the other hand, had to drop two points despite being the better team most of the time.

Lalkhawpuimawia scored for in Aizawl on half-hour mark against the run of the play. Kimkima – who scored an own goal in the previous match – equalised just before half-time. Sony Norde came on as a substitute early in the second half and put his team ahead within five minutes. When the crowd were about the start their celebration, Lalrinmuana silenced everyone with his world-class strike.

In the last two matches, it was Mohun Bagan who took the lead but conceded cheaply later on. When asked about it to coach Sankarlal Chakroborty in the post-match press conference, he lamented the missed chances. “We can’t explain every situation. We got numerous chances. Our opponent attacked only three times and we conceded from two of them. We got a lesson – if you miss chances like this, you must regret at the end of the match. In both the matches, we scored first and conceded lately. We have to change that.”

The menace of losing points at home continues to haunt the Kolkata giants, who dropped 15 points last season at home. But Sankarlal sounded positive, “We believe we can comeback in future. I am saying that considering all my experience. Now we have to increase mental toughness. We should make a promise that we won’t concede goals and whenever we get a chance of scoring we must utilise it. If we can do this, we’ll get the rhythm back.”

The defence let the team down in both matches. Sankarlal wanted a good player in the defence but the club didn't fulfil his wish. Though the gaffer tried to keep calm and said he doesn’t need any more right now. “We don’t need any other foreigners at this moment. Aizawl scored the second goal from a set-piece, so defenders had nothing to do. I can only say we have enough potential in our team,” Sankarlal said.

Sankarlal deployed Norde around the hour-mark in search for a goal. Norde had done his job but it wasn’t enough to secure all the points. However, the Mohun Bagan coach praised his ward, “I told him that I will play him for 15-20 minutes. But I gave him more minutes today. He’s no doubt a quality player. He’s not fully match fit till now, but I have not seen struggling on the pith today. I am satisfied with his performance. He played some beautiful passes, scored a goal. This is so tough after coming back from an injury. What more can we expect from him?”

Norde was also hopeful that his team can make a turnaround soon, maybe from the next match itself. The Haitian said, “It was not easy for me to come back after nine months. Thanks to the coach for giving me some more minutes to play. It was definitely not the way wanted to finish the match. We aimed full points. But one point is not a bad thing for me, considering we have long way to go.”

“We know I-League will be tougher. If you are leading by 1-0, you’re not sure that you’ll win the match. All the players have to give more, even I include myself too. We have to fight for the three points,” he added.

Norde was handed over the captain’s armband by Eze Kingsley after he came on to the pitch. Visibly surprised, Norde thanked him teammate after the match. “I came to the team very late. I was the captain of the team last season. The way they honoured me with the captain’s armband is mind-blowing. Thanks to Kingsley for this surprise,” Norde signed off.