CFL 2019: Mohun Bagan falter again as Aryan sink the Mariners

Mohun Bagan was beaten 2-1 by Aryan in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) on Thursday afternoon at the Kalyani Stadium. 

Ejiogu Emmanuel (61′) and Sandeep Oraw (78′) were on target for Aryan whereas, substitute Subho Ghosh (89′) scored a late consolation goal for the Maroon and greens. 

Kibu Vicuna made two changes to the side that won 4-0 against George Telegraph in the previous match. Surabuddin Mollick and Fran Morante were reinstated to the starting line up in place of Britto PM and Francisco Gonzalez. Salva Chamorro and Suhair VP led the lines whereas Nongdamba Naorem, Joseba Beitiia, and Britto PM formed the three-man midfield. SK Sahil positioned himself as a defensive screener in front of a back four comprising of Lalchhawnkima, Morante, Gurjinder Kumar, and Lalram Chullova.

The match started on an even keel with both sides locked in an intense battle in midfield. As the match progressed Mohun Bagan started getting a foothold through Joeba Beitia and SK Sahil. They were using the flanks to raid Aryan’s fort but lack of creativity in the attacking third was not helping their cause. 

Aryan were primarily depending on counter attacks with Ejiogu Emmanuel as their target man. The Nigerian was causing a few problems for Fran Morante and in the 14th minute his long ranger could have nestled inside the net but for a fingertip save from Bagan custodian Debjit Majumdar. 

The best chance of the half fell for Salva Chamorro but the Spaniard could not keep his effort on target in spite of being unmarked after he latched on to a cross from Suhair VP. 

Aryan started to put pressure on Bagan’s defence in the final five minutes before halftime and in the process earned two flag-kicks. But a resolute Bagan defence weathered the storm and both the teams were unable to break the deadlock at halftime. 

The Mariners started on the ascendancy in the second half but it was Aryan who broke the deadlock against the run of play. Emmanuel was at the right place and at the right time to score past Majumdar who was out of position during the goal. 

Vicuna reacted immediately by bringing on Gonzalez and Subho Ghosh from the bench. But much to the dismay of Bagan fans Aryan found their insurance goal through Sandeep Oraw after the winger connected well to an inch-perfect free-kick. Ghosh pulled one back in the dying minutes of the game after Arup Debnath failed to grip the ball but it was too little too late. In injury time Nongdamba Naorem tried his luck from distance but his shot crashed against the crossbar and came back to play. 

After this loss, Mohun Bagan slip to the fifth position in the league table with 11 points from seven matches and will return to action on Sunday against NBP Rainbow.