FINAL WHISTLE - MOHUN BAGAN 5- 0 SHILLONG LAJONG
90+2’ : That was Jeje’s chance for a hat-trick. He misses. Shame.
90+1’ : Four minutes added on. Bagan just keeping possession now. Bagan fans will sleep well tonight.
90’ : Substitution for Mohun Bagan. Norde off. Souvik in.
87’ : Jeje adjudged the Hero of the Match. Deservedly if I might add.
86’ : GOAALLLL!!! Azharuddin Mallick. Lovely finish by the young kid. This surely seals the deal for the Mariners. One foot on the final. In-between all that was a lovely flick from Norde.
81’ : Substitution for Lajong. Ulliams out. Bipin Singh in.
80’ : What a tackle by Luciano to clear the ball at the edge of the Bagan area.
74’ : I was about to say the pace of the game has dropped off. But, look at that. What a long range effort. What a save from Debjit.
70’ : SITTER. WHAT A CHANCE!!. How did he miss that? Issac sends the all soaring over when it was easier to score.
66’ : Substitution for Mohun Bagan. Pronoy off. Lenny in.
63’ : Good defending from the Mariners. The ball was taken off Fabio Pena at the nick of time.
62’ : If you already didn’t know the score. The Green and Marron brigade is making sure you do know. Lovely atmosphere at the Barasat Stadium.
61’ : Substitution for Mohun Bagan. Glen comes off to a great reception. On comes young Azharuddin Mallick.
60’ : Brilliant stop by the Lajong Goalie. Jeje should have completed his hattrick there though.
55’ : JEJE!!! You beauty. They are absolutely running away with it here. Brilliant play by Glen, outfoxes a Lajong defender and crosses low for Jeje. Jeje says thank you, I’ll take that. GOAL!
52’ : GOALL!! What combination play from the Mariners. Lovely goal. A delicate touch by Glen? He deserved that, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
50’ : First yellow card of the game for Boithang.
48’ : Bagan on the front foot again, Glen gets into the danger zone and passes it off to Norde. Norde dilly dallies and the ball is cleared off the area by Shadap.
46’ : Glen is down on the floor. Ref calls for treatment. I smell time wasting.
45’ : The second half kicks off. Bagan will look to consolidate and end the context. Shillong will look to score an away goal to take from this leg.
At half-time Mohun Bagan two, Shillong Lajong nil. It was a very evenly matched game till Bagan scored. Shillong probably will be kicking themselves for letting them two go in.
45+2’ : Two minutes of Added time. Corner for Bagan, Bikramjit heads over. I would have had to pinch myself if scored a brace before the break.
45’ : GOALL!!!! Bagan goes 2-0 up. Lovely build-up play between Jeje and Glen. Glen flicks it onto space on the left. Enter Bikramjit Singh. First touch? Not needed. Bang ! Through the inside of the bar, into the back of the net.
42’ : The Away Team look to get the score back level straight away. Debjit to Mohun Bagan's rescue again.
40’ : Goal. Goal. Goal. Goal. Jeje, the man of the moment (or the season). Lovely play from Sony Norde who beats two players and shoots. The ball ricochets off Kaith to Jeje. You know the story after that.
38’ :This is proper cup game now. The crowd is on their feet. Not for the faint hearted, this one.
35’ : Foul at the edge of the box by the Left Back Dhanachandra, decent effort by Ulliams. Debjit punches it out, brilliant stuff from the goalie.
33’ : Lovely play from Norde, passes to glen on the wings, takes a left foot effort, off-target.
31’ :The game is finally opening up. Lovely ball from Bikramjit for Katsumi, but his goal-bound effort is blocked by that man Nirmonjee again.
29’ :Ohh dear. Glen is flagged offside for the hundredth time already in the match. Stay on-side buddy.
28’ : What a ball from Pritam, Jeje and Glen couldn’t make anything of it, though. They clearly should have done better. Good defending by Nirmonjee, he forces Jeje to make the wrong decision.
25’ : Free kick from 30 yards out for Shillong Lajong. Dangerous play from Debnath.
23’ : Bagan has had the better of the chances, but the away team have clearly been better. The Mariners need to pull up their socks.
23’ : Neat interplay between the Bagan boys. Glen should have scored, well set up by Jeje. This might come back to haunt them.
20’ : Another long effort from Orji, Bagan are put on the back-foot. If you thought they were here just to defend think again.
18' : Pritam Kotal with another timely interception. This was his second good defensive work in the space of three or four minutes.
17’ : That looked ugly. A long throw from Shillong Lajong, Luciano and Fabio clash heads.
15’ : Boithang is a player. He goes past two people like they aren’t there.
14’ : The crowd is getting into it now. “Mohun Bagan, Mohun Bagan” cheers ringing.
13’ : CLOSE. Cheap giveaway. Could have been costly. Glen to Norde. Shoots off the far post.
10’ : Mohun Bagan with some neat build up, final ball lacking, though.
7’ : Lovely play from the men from Meghalaya, good defending from Mohun Bagan as well. Orji goes for a speculative effort, straight at the Goalkeeper.
6 ’: The corner comes to nothing, they have another corner. Norde shoots over from the resulting corner.
5’ :The game already settling into a pattern. Corner for Mohun Bagan.
3’ : Halder who has come into the line-up for this game is in the thick of the action already. Got to admit, that was a bad challenge. Ref let him go, though.
1’ :Mohun Bagan are straight away on the front foot. The are already looking to get anger man Norde involved into proceedings.
0’ :Everyone seems to be ready, the ref has one last look ta his watch, and we Lajong kick off proceedings.
The big news is Cornell Glen is fit enough to start, and he replaces Azzarudin Mullick in the line-up. The front four for Mohun Bagan looks formidable, with Cornell Glen behind Jeje, Sany Norde on the left, and Katsumi on the right.
Confirmed Line-ups
MOHUN BAGAN XI : Debjit Majumder(GK); Pritam Kotal, Kinshuk Debnath, Luciano Sobrosa, Dhanachandra Singh; Katsumi Yusa(C), Pronay Halder, Bikramjit Singh; Jeje Lalpekhlua, Cornell Glen, Sony Norde.
SHILLONG LAJONG XI : Vishal Kaith(GK); Samuel Shadap, Konsham Chinglensana Singh, Nimdorjee Tamang, Pritam Kumar; Isaac Vanmalsawma, Penn Orji(C), Boithang Haokip; Rupert Nongrum, Fabio Pena, Uilliams Souza.
It’s the Semi-Final of the Hero Federation Cup are finally here. It’s the 13-time champions in Mohun Bagan taking on the might of the North-East in Shillong Lajong. If the semi-finals are anything to go by, Mohun Bagan shouldn’t take Shillong lightly. The giant-killer tag which Shillong Lajong accompany isn’t unfair, as they proved in the quarter-finals as they knocked out the much fancied East Bengal out of the competition.
Mohun Bagan will be very happy with the form of their attacking players, especially the trio of Sony Norde, Jeje, and Katsumi. All three were on the score-sheet against the hapless Salgaocar in the second leg of the quarter-final match between the two. Sony Norde, who won the man of the match, scored two and set up another in a five-star performance. His fitness has provided the much-needed X-Factor to Mohun Bagan which was perhaps missing during their I-League Season.
Shillong’s path to the semi-final was a very different one. They beat East Bengal with a last-gasp winner against East Bengal. Ulliams who was the scorer of the goal, came on as a substitute during that game and showed a few deft touches, and tends to drift past people. He will be the dangerman from the men from Meghalaya.
There doesn’t look to be any complacency in the Mohun Bagan ranks as their Manager Sanjoy Sen reiterated "It is a big match and all of us have seen the strengths of Shillong Lajong. They have defeated East Bengal thrice in the last three matches", he said. "We have not been able to beat them in two matches this season but it's true the other way round as well. They have also not beaten Mohun Bagan. So, the team that will control its nerves better will win tomorrow", added Sen.
Shillong will look to carry at least a single goal to the second leg of the game, with the Away Goal rule kicking in this season in the Federation Cup, an Away Goal will be vital to take to Meghalaya. Penn Orji will be anchoring the midfield and will be key for the Read and Gold Lion’s
Probable Playing 11:
Mohun Bagan: Debjit Majumder(GK); Pritam Kotal, Kinshuk Debnath, Luciano Sobrosa, Dhanachandra Singh; Bikramjit Singh, Katsumi Yusa(C), Lenny Rodrigues; Azharuddin Mallick, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sony Norde.
Shillong Lajong: Nimdoorjee Tamang,Konsham, Fabio Pena(F),Ulliams,Haokip,Pen Orji(C) (F),Vishal Kaith (GK), S Pritam Singh, Samuel Shadap, Bipin Singh, Issac Chhakchhuak
The game is live from the Barasat Stadium, from 19:00 hours.
