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After two heart-breaking losses, Mohun Bagan finally came back to winning ways in the I-League under new coach Khalid Jamil. They defeated defending champions Minerva Punjab 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday.
Though they remained on the sixth position with 18 points from 12 matches, the win would be a vital boost for the green and maroon ahead of their next home match against NEROCA FC. Defending champions Minerva Punjab, who have won earlier here against East Bengal, have 13 points from 12 matches.
Mohun Bagan coach Khalid Jamil had little time to make any change in terms of strategy. But he deployed a new defensive formation against Minerva. Mohun Bagan’s game-plan was overall the same, but mentally they were looking more confident on the pitch.
Let us look at the three points of the game:
#3 Mohun Bagan’s relentless attacking paid off
Mohun Bagan knew very well that it would be hard to crack Minerva’s defence. So they rightly opted for attacking football.
Right from the start, they took control of the midfield and played more and more forward passes into the opponent’s half.
The move ultimately paid off as Mohun Bagan capitalised the opportunity that came on their plate.
Khalid Jamil made quite a few changes in his first match in charge. The defensive line-up was completely overhauled as Lalchawnkima and Arjiit Bagui made way for Gurjinder Kumar and Dalraj Singh. Sony Norde started on the right wing but quickly changed his flank as the match started.
Omar Elhusseiny and Yuta Kinowaki once again played a pivotal role in the midfield. The Japanese-Egyptian combo has already made a brilliant understanding between them and it was exposed when they created some quick chances within the first quarter of the game.
Dipanda Dicka waited behind the defenders for his chances and made an impact when he was fouled by Lancine Toure in the box.
But the referee refused to award the penalty. Dicka waited patiently and was fouled again in the box by Toure and this time referee pointed towards the spot.
Omar Elhusseiny was a standout player throughout the match as he kept moving up and down constantly. He was rightly awarded the man of the match.
#2 Absence of a positive striker cost Minerva dear
During the pre-match press conference, Minerva coach Paul Munster made it clear he will get only two foreigners out of five against Mohun Bagan.
On Wednesday though, he gave Yu Kuboki the start. It was clearly visible that Kuboki was not fully fit as struggled to get past Mohun Bagan defenders.
On the contrary, youngster Akash Sangwan was taking more responsibility. He tried to make an impact throughout the match with his skills and but it was not enough to trouble green and maroon defenders.
The defending champions were pegged back by the lack of a positive striker, who could hold near the box and make movements. Also, the midfielders have not performed at their best.
Apart from the strikers, Minerva defence also fell short of experience. They opted for a five-man backline to stop Mohun Bagan strikers.
But a costly mistake from experienced defender Lancine Toure forced them to concede the first goal. Though Munster said it was not a penalty after the match.
#1 Norde shows his class again
He may have sat out for a greater part of the campaign due to injury, but whenever Sony Norde took the field, he has made an impact.
During his first match for Mohun Bagan, he scored a beautiful goal against Aizawl FC. His second goal was against Chennai City FC thanks to a screamer from distance. In the last match against Real Kashmir FC, he scored from a beautiful free-kick.
Though he failed to find the net against Minerva Punjab, but his clever pass to Dipanda Dicka ensured Mohun Bagan will get all the three points.
The green and maroon endured a hard time breaking the defence of Minerva. They were allowing little space to make a move or to shoot. But Norde was desperate in his approach. Whenever he got the ball, he tried to use his skills.
His pass to Dicka in the 29th minute earned his side the penalty. Then in the 69th minute, Norde got a ball when he had four defenders in front of him.
He made an inside cut and found a gap between Arshpreet Singh and Jorgeivan Rodriguez and passed the ball to Dipanda Dicka, bamboozling the entire defence.
Dicka, who was left unmarked, made no mistake.
