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After two back to back wins, Mohun Bagan put up a disastrous performance against Churchill Brothers in their fifth Hero I-League match of the season. Willis Plaza scored a brace and Dawda Ceesay scored another in what was a dominating performance from the Goan side.
Mohun Bagan drew their first game at home against Aizawl FC courtesy a last-minute equaliser from David Lalrinmuana. But after two convincing away wins against Indian Arrows and Real Kashmir, Mohun Bagan were expected to run riot against a team, who had drawn their first three matches and registered their only win against Shillong Lajong.
But what transpired in the game was not expected. When asked how the team fared so badly, Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said: “It can happen in any game. You can’t control every match. There will be one or two slip-ups. So we’re not worried. We need to analyze our mistakes.”
“We got quite a few chances in the match. We reached the opponent’s goalmouth on a few occasions but we failed to convert our chances. Sometimes it happens. Those who missed chances today will score goals the other day. It was just a bad day in office,” Sankarlal added.
Haitian playmaker Sony Norde was included in the starting line-up and played for the whole match. He created few chances which his teammates failed to utilise. One of his shots also hit the post. Sankarlal said he’s happy with Norde’s performance: “Sony tried his best but he is a human like us, not a God who can fulfil all the wishes. We can’t rely on him only when it comes to winning matches.”
Mohun Bagan lost their ‘unbeaten’ tag against Churchill. Asked whether it will hamper their chances in winning the I-League title, the green and maroon gaffer said: “I am not an astrologer. We still have 15 matches. I can only assure that we’ll give our best in the next matches. We are not heartbroken. Defeat will always serve a lesson for us.”
Former East Bengal man Willis Plaza scored a brace for Churchill Brothers after captain Dawda Ceesay opened the account for the visitors. Churchill climbed up to the second position with nine points from five points. Mohun Bagan are down to the fourth position with eight points from the same number of matches.
Mohun Bagan will now face league leaders Chennai City at home on Saturday, December 1.
