Mohun Bagan played out a 1-1 draw with Maldives outfit, Valencia, in their first-leg encounter in AFC Cup qualifier.
Darryl Duffy scored an early goal when he slammed the ball into the back of the net after being teed up by Prabir Das with a delightful cross. Godfrey Omodu repealed Duffy’s early strike when he drilled the ball into the net from the spot.
The match was an evenly contested one where both the teams squeezed their hearts out and the result was an apt one. Despite an upbeat performance in the first-half, Bagan seemed to run low on gas after the breather. Valencia, on the contrary, staged a strong reprisal and compelled Shilton and Anas to come to their rescue.
We will now sneak a peek into those 5 points that heavily impacted the match.
#1 Prabir Das reigned supreme in the Bagan midfield
Prabir Das was an absolute sensation in Bagan’s midfield as he dictated terms. After getting a nod to start the game, he combined brilliantly with Bikramjit and Raynier Fernandes to whip in those defence-splitting passes. He was also instrumental with his lightning fast runs down the right flank to curl in crosses for Duffy and Balwant.
Prabir Das was the one who laid the foundation of the first goal for Mohun Bagan. He sped past a couple of defenders with an outside dodge and whipped in a delectable cross for Duffy. Duffy did excellently well to latch onto the ball and slot it past a stranded Valencia custodian into the goal.
Prabir’s unrelenting runs down the right always kept the Valencia defenders on their toes. He could have got the second assist for the night only if Bikramjit could have been on target. Prabir Das teed up Bikramjit Singh with a lovely chance only for the latter to rattle the woodwork with his powerful pile-driver.
Prabir created an ocean of opportunities for Balwant, Duffy, and Katsumi to score but those chances went begging as none of them were up to the task.
#2 Shilton Paul stood tall under the woodwork
Shilton Paul made a comeback to the starting eleven after a long time and was an instant hit in the Bagan goal. Despite a one-way traffic in the first half in the favour of Bagan, on a couple of occasions, Valencia tried their luck in scoring. They were mostly unsuccessful because of the heroics of Shilton Paul.
On the half hour mark, Valencia’s Ahmed made a darting run towards the penalty box in an attempt to latch on to a long ball. However, Shilton closed him down brilliantly coming off his line and snatching the ball away from his feet.
In the dying embers of the first half, Price tried to curl in another long ball for Omodu. However, Shilton was brisk and raced forward to catch the ball mid-air before that could have posed a threat for Bagan.
The second-half witnessed full-scale retaliation from the hosts as they unleashed a battery of assaults on the Mohun Bagan goal. With some aid from Anas and Eduardo, Shilton came out with flying colors to bail the team out of every predicament.
However, there were a couple of slip-offs from the Bagan custodian as well. He was helpless in case of the spot-kick which was blasted into the net by Omodu. Just a minute after the penalty, he came off his line but failed to comprehend the flight of the ball. Eduardo made a last-ditch clearance to avert any danger.
#3 Probable pep-talk in the half-time from Valencia coach
A side that was suffering from indecisiveness till the end of first-half, rose out of their own ashes and pegged down Bagan heavily in the second-half. Valencia’s repeated attacks pushed Bagan to the backseat in the latter part of the game. They started the second-half with a long ranger. Paul had to charge down the line to grip that.
Valencia kept on running across the entire field thereby broadening the spectrum of the game and left Bagan reeling from the switchovers. The wings were put to good use by the home team as they kept on harrowing Bagan with untenable runs and picture-perfect crosses.
They could have easily turned the score in their favour, only if their strikers were a bit more prolific. Barring Omodu, the others seemed lacklustre and failed to mount any pressure on the Bagan defence.
Their salvo paid off in the 70th minute when Subasish Bose, the U-22 sensation for Bagan so far in this I-league, handed the ball in the penalty box. The referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Omodu stepped up to the task and slapped the spot-kick home with consummate ease, drawing Valencia level.
Valencia almost ascertained the lead through Omodu, when Shilton Paul miscued his charge and Eduardo made a last-ditch dive to provide a goal-line clearance.
#4 Anas and Subhasish Bose seemed impregnable
Out of the ISL recruits for Bagan, Anas Edathodika has been the best pick for The Mariners. The only player, who has started every game in this season in I-League for Bagan, was instrumental in this match as well.
Subhasish Bose is another player who has riveted the attention of many as he came out with flying colours in most of the games.
This duo combined brilliantly to keep Valencia at bay. At times, Anas flew in with crackling tackles to oust his opposition of the possession. Subasish, on the contrary, cleared the aerial balls with authority.
Bose chipped in with a few long balls intended for Duffy as well. Duffy however, seemed pretty helpless in the opposition’s defence. Anas teed up Katsumi once with a delectable long ball. Haplessly, their custodian charged out to their team’s rescue.
Anas and Subhasish’s presence in the defence has made up for a huge void that was left in the Mohun Bagan midfield.
#5 Millions of chances went begging for both the sides
The score that was tied at 1-1 at the end of the game could have featured a lot more goals. Both the teams despite relentless salvo in respected halves failed to convert chances.
Darryl Duffy and Balwant Singh seemed toothless in the attack. Duffy had multiple long balls that flew his way. However, he failed to latch on to most of them and the chances went on to fade away.
Balwant, the man of the match in Bagan’s previous encounter against Shivajians, was invisible in today’s match. He was caught napping for most of the times and failed to convert most of the opportunities that came his way including a sitter.
Similarly, Ahmed and Omodu for Valencia kept on paralleling their Indian counterparts in missing opportunities.
The second-half witnessed a fusillade of powerful shots and long rangers created for both the strikers of Valencia. However, both of them lacked the sting to charge forward and push for a goal.
With a much-needed away goal in their favour, Bagan would definitely like to advance to the next round by thumping Valencia at home. However, given their performance in the second-half, one never knows what is in store for Bagan on next Tuesday.
