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Result of the round
Rangdajied United 0-3 Mohammedan Sporting
Mohammedan Sporting got a massive away win against Shillong’s Rangdajied United
Moshood Bola Abdulaziz might have landed Mohammedan Sporting’s first silverware in 26 years by winning the Durand Cup last month but his job is under serious threat due to the poor start in the I-League. The situation was far worse before Sunday’s game against Rangdajied United as the 122-year-old club was the only team in the I-League without any points, having suffered three straight defeats.
Abdulaziz can’t be blamed too much for the Kolkata club’s poor start as he was given a squad that lacks quality and balance to even stay up in the league with only the four foreigners giving some hope. But with Brazilian Luciano Sobrosa injured in the first three games and Nigerian Penn Orji struggling for full fitness, Mohammedan Sporting looked ordinary and suffered a hattrick of losses.
As a result they are close to loaning five players from IMG-Reliance but none of them were going to be available for the Rangdajied clash and the general feeling was that Abdulaziz at least needed to avoid defeat in this game to ensure that he remains in charge when that quintet would join the club.
Mohammedan Sporting eventually got the result and that too in style as they thumped Rangdajied 3-0 thanks to first half goals from Tolgay Ozbey, Jerry Zirsanga and Josimar. Considering that Dempo and Churchill Brothers failed to beat Rangdajied in Shillong, the win was a top result under any circumstance but especially considering the poor start that they had, this victory could turn out to be huge for Abdulaziz in particular as he can now look forward to working with a quality squad.
There were instances in the match though to remind Abdulaziz that there is plenty of hard work ahead as Mohammedan Sporting had to thank their goalkeeper Ashok Kumar for a string of important saves. In fact their custodian was the man of the match against possibly the weakest team of the league. The result also confirms that Rangdajied will be the favourites to go down at the end of the season as they remain winless after five games having played thrice at home already and don’t look to have the personnel to turn things around.
Best Players
Foreigner – Darryl Duffy (Salgaocar)
Having scored in his first three games, the challenge for Duffy was to maintain his scoring run and so he did with two clinical finishes in the second half against Mumbai FC. The former Swansea striker’s five goals has not only taken his team to the top but also makes him the current leader of the individual scoring chart.
Indian – Clifford Miranda (Dempo)
Beto bagged a brace but Clifford Miranda (right) was Dempo’s danger man against East Bengal
The most prolific Indian midfield goal scorer in I-League history showed his class against East Bengal with a goal and assist. Miranda completely exposed the defensive frailties of East Bengal right back Naoba Singh and reminded everyone that when fit he should be a sure starter for the Indian national team.
Controversy
Once again this column surrounds a Kolkata club as East Bengal were fined for crowd trouble in Kalyani. Hooliganism and crowd violence has plagued Kolkata over the years and Dempo’s Samir Naik was the latest to experience it although he was lucky not to get injured. With East Bengal down 2-0 at Kalyani, a firecracker was burst close to Naik while he was taking a throw-in. The match was stopped for a while and the section from where the unwanted missile came was immediately evacuated but more importantly the former India international wasn’t hurt and later revealed that he almost grabbed the firecracker before it burst thinking that it was a stone! Although East Bengal in particular haven’t been guilty recently, a fine was perhaps a lenient punishment as it doesn’t really send out a message to avoid any such mishap in the future.
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | GD |
| Salgaocar | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | +6 |
| Bengaluru FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | +5 |
| Pune FC | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | +5 |
| United SC | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | +3 |
| Sporting Clube | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Mumbai FC | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Dempo | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | -1 |
| Shillong Lajong | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -2 |
| East Bengal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +2 |
| Mohammedan Sporting | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -3 |
| Mohun Bagan | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -3 |
| Churchill Brothers | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -4 |
| Rangdajied United | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -8 |
