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Aizawl FC put up an inspiring performance against Mohun Bagan to snatch away a vital away point from their fixture at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday evening. A 2-2 draw was a satisfactory result for Gift Raikhan’s men after a loss to Shillong Lajong FC in the previous match. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan will be disappointed to miss on a win in their first home match of the season.
Although Gift feels that the overall display of his boys was pretty ordinary, his plan was executed perfectly. During the post-match press conference, the tactician said, “The team performance was not good, we are lucky. Mohun Bagan played well. They played well, they dominated the second half. My strategy worked out. The match was not good, but what I planned was a success.”
Aizawl FC took the lead in the 29th minute with a left-footed shot by Lalkhawpuimawia, but Bagan made it evens by a sensational goal from their stopper Kim Kima in the 43rd minute. Running out of ideas, Bagan coach Shankarlal Chakraborty introduced Haitian winger Sony Norde to change the fortune of the game. The footballer scored in the 69th minute of the match, but the lead was nullified in the dying minutes of the match by a brilliant free-kick from Aizawl FC’s David Lalrinmuana.
Gift informed that he was aware that David can make a difference so he gave him an opportunity in the latter part of the game. “David, who scored the second goal, is a master of free kicks. So I gave him fifteen minutes because we were down by 1-2. The moment we got the free-kick, I knew that he would do something, maybe he will hit the post or he will get it. I had full faith in him.,” said the coach.
Aizawl FC has now secured just a single point from their games while Mohun Bagan has accumulated just 2 points from their two games so far. The team from Mizoram is now scheduled to play two home matches against NEROCA FC and defending champions Minerva Punjab FC. On the other hand, ‘The Mariners’ will play away to Indian Arrows next weekend.
