Internet Desk: Mohun Bagan suffers maiden defeat in the hands of Aizawl FC 2-1. Aizawl FC opened the scoring in the opening minutes of the match through a Joel Sunday (3′)shot while Glen found the equaliser in the 24th minute. Lalchuwnkima scored from a penalty in the 54th minute. David Lalrinmuana was awarded Man of the match.
Mohun Bagan had to make four forced alterations. As Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sony Norde, Pronay Halder and Pritam Kotal were away on international duty, Cornell Glen, Manish Bhargav, Souvik Chakraborty and Dhanachandra Singh were ushered in as replacements.
Jahar Das rung in four changes to his side as Albert Zohmingmawia was favoured ahead of Biaktea and young goalkeeper Lalawmpuia was handed an I-League debut in place of Poirei Soram. Suspended defensive duo Emmanuel Chigozie and Lalram Chullova were replaced by HS Imanuel Lalthazuala and Lalchawnkima respectively.
The highlanders got the all important lead in the third minute of the match when Joel Sundayfound the back of the net putting immense pressure on the visiting Mohun Bagan side without their big name players. Aizawl FC had to make a forced change in the 15th minute with makeshift right back HS Lalthazuala replaced by Laltha Kima.
The Mariners found the equaliser in the 24th minute of the match from a defensive error of Aizawl FC through an easy shot from Glen at the back of the net. Kean Lewis replaced Manish Bhargav on the pitch for Mohun Bagan as Shankar Lal Chakraborty sought a more attack minded midfield to assist Glen upfront. Cornell Glen and Subash Singh combined in the right flank. The Manipur foward’s cross troubled the Aizawl FC keeper but Ruatthara cleared the ball before danger loomed.
Aizawl FC were awarded a penalty in the 54th minute as Dhanachandra Singh was found guilty of handling the ball from Ruatthara’s shot inside the box with the referee pointing to the spot. Experienced defender Lalchhawnkima took the penalty and the former Atletico de Kolkata sweeper slotted it to his left, sending Majumder the wrong way. The crowd were jubilant as Aizawl led the Kolkata giants by a goal with the better part of the second half left.
Aizawl moved clear off the bottom of the table with twelve points, pushing Shillong Lajong into the relegation spot.For Mohun Bagan, the defeat could be a major upset as they prepare for the return leg of the Kolkata Derby to be played in seven days time in Siliguri. Mohun Bagan are 25 points from 12 matches.
At the end of the match, Sanjoy looked furious with his team’s performance. He quoted as saying,” We produced a flop show. Each and every player were horrible today. Its dissappointing to see this kind of football. The attitude of my players were poor on the field specially Prabir Das, Abhishek Das. We are fortunate enough to lose the match by a small margin as the credit goes to Debjit for his awesome saves.”
Is it a alarm call before the derby? Sanjoy replied, “Yes obviously. We have seven days to recover from the mistakes. But I would like to mention that Glen and luciano are not fully fit.”