Aizawl, Sabyasachi Bagchi: Mohun Bagan head coach Sanjoy Sen firmly believes that the Hero I-League is still open even after his team suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Aizawl FC who stand 1 point from being crowned Champions.
The Green and Maroon brigade suffered a major setback in the mountains when they lost to a 82’ header from the local lad Zotea. Title hopes for the Mariners are still not over as Mohun Bagan will have to win the next game and hope that Aizawl looses their next match as even a draw for Aizawl sees the young team managed by Khalid Jamil win their first ever I-League.
“The last match will be the decider and that is happening. The last match will decide which team is going to be the Champions. If you all think that Aizawl FC is the Champion that is up to you.”, said Sen. He however denied to speak about post match analysis to the press and said that he would only share that news with his players.
“We played the game at a higher altitude and under torrential rain, there was very less visibility due to the fog. Overall the situation was highly unfavourable for our team. Another important reason was over exhaustion of the players. Many of our players played for the Indian National team which was not a concern for Aizawl team as they had no players playing for team India.”, Anjan Mitra, the Secretary of Mohun Bagan club.
Daryl Duffy tweeted that he was sorry for not scoring the goal but was a bit disappointed on the performance of his fellow teammates. On being enquired about this matter to Mitra, he said he is unaware of the fact and would comment after knowing the same. When asked about the same to Sanjoy Sen, he replied “I don’t follow social media. I don’t even have a Facebook account. And I am least bothered about these things. I don’t care who says what. Whatever you guys are showing or writing I am even least bothered about that.
Mitra however stated that he has very little hopes about his team winning the title. He further said that Aizawl would be playing a tough match against Lajong while Mohun Bagan has a relatively easy match playing Chennai FC at home on the 30th of this month.
Sen however refused to comment on how he is going to motivate his players for the upcoming match.
“The foreign player recruitment has been good and the local players are physically fit. They are working on the development of youth footballers, which is a very good sign for Indian football and I can assure you that many players will join the National team from this Academy” says Mitra who was impressed by the grassroots development of football in Aizawl.
After having their dreams crushed in the mountains, the Mohun Bagan Senior players, foreign players along with the managing and technical committee landed at the Netaji Subhas Airport in Kolkata today.
Jeje being a local lad of Mizoram has decided to meet his parents and went to his home after the match. He is expected to arrive a couple of days later.
Daryl Duffy and Sony Norde have refused to comment on anything about the game.
However Coach Sanjoy Sen stands beside Duffy by saying “Where was the defence? The goal was conceded due to a defensive error.”
On being asked about yesterday’s loss the coach said ‘’ I don’t care about the comments of the critics.”
The Green and Maroon head coach also believes there is still an outside chance for the Mariners to win the league for the second time in a span of 3 years.
Bagan Secretary Anjan Mitra said “Foreign players of Aizawl are better compared to our foreigners like Sony Norde.”
On the flip side Mohun Bagan Asst. General Secretary Srinjoy Bose said “If Aizawl’s foreigners come to Kolkata to join a city giant and play under these extreme pressure, they are bound to perform like this and meet the same fate.”