The Hindu : Sport / Football : Coelho nets Bagan's winner

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Sport

Sport - Football

Coelho nets Bagan's winner

Special Correspondent

KOLKATA : Promoted this season to play among the elite, Mohammedan Sporting's fortunes have declined steadily and it lost to Mohun Bagan 1-0 in the 16th round of the 10th National Football League at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.

With just a round to go, the Kolkata club can only save itself provided the other team in the relegation zone, Salgaocar SC, loses its next match against Sporting Clube de Goa and then lose to Mohd. Sporting at home.

Mohun Bagan has kept itself in line for a third place finish with its seventh win and has logged 27 points. Sporting has 14 points from 16 rounds, just three ahead of Salgaocar, which has two matches in hand.

Wrong strategy

Mohd. Sporting paid for playing a defensive game with an intention to snatch a point from Bagan. This resulted in it giving away too much space and time to Bagan players.

Bagan struck midway through the second half through Eduardo Coelho's firm header off a Dharamjit Singh free-kick taken from the left wing.

Bagan came up with some concerted efforts whenever an opportunity presented itself.

In fact, the team should have gone ahead in the fifth minute when a Dulal Biswas freekick found Awudu Ibrahim well placed in front of the rival goalkeeper Gopal Das.

The burly striker, instead, feebly shot to the 'keeper. As a scrappy first half was about to end, Dulal himself missed a sitter.

The Subhas Bhowmick-coached Sporting found the going rather tough with its brand of soccer as Bagan kept pressing for the match-winner.

As the match neared the close, Ibrahim had a solo on the left and his timely lob to substitute Sushil Kumar proved ineffective as the striker shot into the goalkeeper.

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