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A rampant Mohun Bagan downed Pune FC 2-0 in a rich display of attacking football at the Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune. Goals from Jeje and Yusa Katsumi sealed the deal for the visitors who now are 3 points clear at the top with one game in hand. Pune FC find themselves on the 5th position with 23 points.
Here’s how the players performed on the night:
Pune FC
Amrinder Singh – 5/10
The custodian was not vocal enough and should have come out to collect the loose ball, but made a half-hearted attempt to come forward from his line, which eventually led to a goal.
Srikanth Ramu – 4.5/10
The right back, who was handed a rare start, had a night to forget as he could do little against the trickery of Sony Norde. Most of the visitors’ attacks came from their left flank and he was left chasing shadows.
Luciano Sabrosa – 5/10
The otherwise resolute Brazilian defender was unable to take charge and clear the ball. Instead, he led to a confusion which was capitalized by the Bengal team for their opening goal.
Munmun Lugun – 5.5/10
The left-back tried being adventurous in the attack, but was wasteful in possession, not putting in any good crosses. He was also caught out of position at times leaving plenty of open spaces for the Bengal outfit to exploit.
Zohmingliana Ralte – 5.5/10
The Aizawl born defender had very little to offer as he enjoyed only a little time on the ball.
Arata Izumi – 6/10
The Indian international could not hand any attacking opportunities but was all over the park attempting to break down their attacks.
Ryuji Sueoka – 6/10
The former East Bengal failed to trouble the Bagan defence. He got a rare chance around the hour mark to take a shot from Marcelino’s cross, but could not keep the ball down and ended up shooting well over the goal.
Dhanpal Ganesh – 5.5/10
Returning after serving his suspension, the holding midfielder was good in patches. He did well to curb the visitors attack, but was sacrificed in the first half itself to make way for Prakash Thorat.
Edgar Marcelino – 6.5/10
The Portuguese international continued to show why he is rated highly, but was wasteful with his final ball on more than one occasions.
Fanai Lalrempuia – 5.5/10
Like the other attackers, Puia was ineffectual in putting in any meaningful attack; again, credit to the Mariners’ defence.
Darko Nikac – 5/10
The Montenegro forward was mostly an isolated figure up front. He rarely got an opportunity to trouble the keeper and whenever he did, he was surrounded by a cloud of white shirts to stop him from doing any damage.
Mohun Bagan
Debjit Majumder – 6/10
The keeper had a rather peaceful night. He was rarely called into action apart from the dead-ball situations where he lived up to the task.
Anwar Ali – 6.5/10
The defender complemented his Nigerian partner and was successful in keeping Nikac quiet throughout the night.
Bello Razzak – 7/10
The Nigerian defender was vital in marshalling the defence. He rarely slipped to give the opponents a peek at the goal.
Dhanachandra Singh – 6.5/10
The Chennaiyin defender did not have much to do as the midfield only seldom let the ball past their line. He could have done better going forward, but he got his basics right and help his side keep a clean sheet.
Pritam Kotal – 6/10
The FC Pune City defender played a critical role in containing the attacks from Edgar Marcelino; thereby, curtailing any possible threat to the goal.
Yusa Katsumi – 7.5/10
The Japanese midfielder was vital in distributing the ball and controlling the tempo of the game. His performance was rewarded with a goal in the 75th minute when he headed in a goal from Norde’s cross.
Denson Devadas – 6.5/10
He took advantage of the miscommunication between the Pune defenders and chipped a shot which hit the bar and was later tapped in by Jeje.
Sehnaj Singh – 6/10
Apart from one shot on goal, the midfielder could not make any significant impact.
Manish Bhargav – 6.5/10
The midfielder was vital in breaking down the host’s play and put in a few good attacking passes. He almost scored one towards the end when his shot flew just over the bar.
Jeje Lalpekhlua – 7/10
He scored a typical poacher’s goal. Taking advantage of the goalmouth scramble and tapping one in from close range. He could have scored another after a defence-splitting pass from Sony Norde, but his shot rolled past the goalmouth. He could have inflicted much more damage but was let down by some poor touches.
Sony Norde – 8/10
The Haiti international was, unarguably, the liveliest player on the pitch. Though he did not get his name on the scoresheet, he had been troubling the defence right from the start with his trickery. He almost scored one from a low free-kick which brushed the upright before going out, but was able to assist Katsumi for Bagan’s second goal.
