KOZHIKODE: Mohun Bagan went into the game against Gokulam Kerala knowing that their bitter rivals East Bengal had won earlier in the day. Coming into the match, Bagan had been winless from the two games against Gokulam. They had enough motivation to fight for three points but Gokulam proved to be their bogey team yet again. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw during their I-League clash at the EMS Corporation stadium on Saturday.
This result will hurt them, especially when there were enough chances to bury the hoodoo against Bino George and his side. However, they didn’t have the best of starts. Shankarlal Chakraborty’s men gave the impression that they were still doing their warm-ups when the referee blew the whistle. Gokulam were the early aggressors.
And their new signing Antonio German wanted to demonstrate what his left foot could do. The former Kerala Blasters man would have wanted to show his former employers what they were missing. The 26-year-old bombarded down the left and delivered a cross with clear intentions of finding a teammate. And it reached skipper Mudde Musa, whose shot was frantically cleared by the Bagan defence.
After all the excitement that was shown by the Gokulam players, Bagan settled down. The Calcutta Football League winners cleared their heads and stopped focussing on what Gokulam were doing. They decided to play their game. They played like they didn’t miss talisman Sony Norde, who didn’t travel. The players held onto the ball and found spaces between Gokulam players. When that wasn’t working, they scooped the ball into the air and more often than not, it found a Bagan player.
While German started to fade away, Bagan attackers Dipanda Dicka and Henry Kisekka began getting into their rhythm. Bagan had a series of chances to score. Pintu Mahata and Dicka hit the post. Eventually, they cracked open the home side. Kisekka headed in a free-kick from Arjit Bagui. Just a year ago, Kisekka played for Gokulam and he didn’t celebrate the goal.
In the second half too, Bagan imposed their possession-based football. Gokulam were starved of the ball. That’s when Bino George decided to bully Bagan. His team were unable to match Bagan on technical skills. He threw in the marauding Rajesh up front. The bullying tactic worked. Rajesh worked as the perfect partner for their midfield man Arjun Jayaraj. Bagan defender Lalchhawnkima’s own goal late on helped Gokulam avoid defeat.martinj@newindianexpress.com