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Monday, Oct 20, 2008
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Bagan holds Sporting

Principal Correspondent

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan held Mohammedan Sporting 1-1 in a fourth round match of the I-League here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Sunday.

Sporting went into the lead in the third minute with Goutam Thakur finding the mark. Jose Barreto scored the equaliser for Mohun Bagan in the 23rd minute.

Mohun Bagan enjoyed a little edge in the first half. It created an opening in the second minute when forward Ishfaq Ahmed moved up through the left-flank and sent a low cross to an unmarked Malswamtluanga. Instead of making a try the latter wasted the opportunity by passing it over to Barreto who was marked by the Sporting defenders.

Thakur strikes

Sporting then went on the counter-attack and Theodore Sunday Wrobeh surged into the rival box after latching on to a long pass from Mike Okoro. Having drawn the attention of the Bagan defence towards himself, Wrobeh quickly passed back to an unmarked Goutam Thakur, who calmly slotted the ball into the net.

Stung by the early reverse Mohun Bagan mounted the pressure.

With Baichung Bhutia still recovering from a hamstring injury, Mohun Bagan depended heavily on its Brazilian striker Jose Barreto. Fortunately for Mohun Bagan the goal route was opened up by an error in the opposition defence. Sporting left-back Bijoy Das let slip a cross from S. Malswamtluanga releasing Barreto who was unmarked on top of the box. The Brazilian found the net with an angular volley.

Bagan had a chance to take the lead in the 36th minute but Sporting’s new custodian, Tharangachan, brilliantly saved midfielder Rakesh Masih’s cracking attempt off a free-kick.

The second session lacked the intensity that was seen in the first. Though Bagan enjoyed a greater share of ball control, Sporting looked more incisive in the striking zone.

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