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Bagan holds Air India

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan struggled to hold Air India to a 1-1 draw at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Friday.

Having lost 1-2 in its first outing against Mumbai FC, the former champion faced the prospect of yet another reverse before an equaliser from substitute Branco Vincent Cardozo midway through the second session helped Bagan escape with a draw.

Going ahead

Air India had surged ahead almost at the stroke of half-time when attacking midfielder Soccor Velho found the net off a free-kick.

Mohun Bagan’s Moroccan coach Karim Bencherifa sat bemused on the sideline for most part of the match, probably wondering about the tactics that would haul his team out of trouble.

On the other hand, the seasoned Air India coach Bimal Ghosh was full of confidence.

And the visitor kept it straight by adopting the snatch-and-shoot policy.

This is the best a team can do when it is playing an away game.

Poor conversion

Mohun Bagan dominated a major part of the first session by earning chances at will, but poor conversion undid all its efforts.

Jose Barreto tried his best to compensate for the absence of his injured colleague Baichung Bhutia.

The Brazilian striker repeatedly stormed into the Air India territory, displaying his sublime skills.

However, Mohun Bagan’s raids fell flat at the opposition goalmouth due to ineffective finishing.

Barreto himself was found wanting on two occasions, while Air India custodian Arup Debnath made acrobatic saves, blocking Barreto’s efforts as well as Mohun Bagan midfielder Lalkamal Bhowmik’s two other attempts.

Even as Mohun Bagan kept missing opportunities, Air India grabbed the one that came its way in the form of a set-piece situation just before the interval.

Velho found the net off a Napoleon Singh free-kick after a poor clearance by Bagan’s P. Lalawmpuia.

Ploy works

Moving into the second session desperate to save itself from another loss, Mohun Bagan made two changes, bringing in attacking midfielder S. Malswamtluanga and its third forward, Cardozo.

The change worked in the home side’s favour as Cardozo finished a move initiated by Barreto and supported by Lalawmpuia.

That was all Mohun Bagan could achieve as it spent the rest of the second half preventing a resurgent Air India from snatching full points from the match.

Edmilson ruled out

Meanwhile, East Bengal received another blow when its Brazilian striker Edmilson Marques was ruled out for a long period after being diagnosed with Hepatitis ‘B’.

This was confirmed by an East Bengal official who said that the test reports confirmed Edmilson had Hepatitis ‘B’ and this would keep him out of action for at least two months.

Decision soon

With the new AIFF rules allowing a club to register a new foreigner in case the originally enrolled player gets seriously injured or becomes unwell, East Bengal would take a decision on Edmilson’s future in the next few days.

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