Bagan…2 E Bengal…1
PANJIM, MAY 16
Mohun Bagan did the double over their arch-rivals East Bengal for only the third time in the combined history of National League and I-League after a hard fought 2-1 victory at Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata on Sunday.
Japanese Ryuji Seoka was the standout performer as he assisted in both Bagan goals which were scored by Jose Ramirez Barreto and Snehashish Chakraborty. Ghanaian Yusif Yakubu pulled one back for the red-and-gold brigade in injury time.
Mohun Bagan remained ahead this season with four meetings in 2009-10. If Mohun Bagan won their first-leg I-League match, East Bengal avenged the loss in Federation Cup en route to the title win. Mohun Bagan were held by a 10-man East Bengal in their local league clash while, the green-and-maroon brigade had the last laugh in their win on Sunday.
East Bengal’s Belgian coach opted to include injured Ghana striker Yusif Yakubu in their starting line-up, a move that severely back-fired with the ace forward missing chances in the first-half. B Beikhokhei was no good either as he too disappointed the East Bengal camp in the first 45 minutes as Mohun Bagan led the half time with a Jose Barreto 14th minute goal.
The scoreline was not as big as their first-leg meeting that Mohun Bagan won 5-3 with Chidi pumping in four goals but nevertheless the Mariners sparkled in patches as their traditional rivals struggled.
India captain Bhaichung Bhutia, who was out due to injury, remained confined to the bench and was included in the 60th minute to bring East Bengal up from despair.
With Barretto’s goal, the first-half clearly belonged to Mohun Bagan as they also sparkled through some good work by Ryuji Sueoka who missed one chance in the beginning but minutes later ensured that Barreto scored to give Mohun Bagan the crucial 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
Thereafter, East Bengal were let down at least thrice by Yakubu (twice) and Beikhokhei as Mohun Bagan went into the break with a one-goal lead.
As expected, Ridder brought in mercurial Bhutia and Sanju Pradhan after the changeover but it did not pay any dividend. The Mariners made it 2-0 in the 84th minute when substituted Snehashish Chakraborty (Ishfaq Ahmed) sealed the issue with a brilliant right-footer in the 85th minute. Sueoka set it up for a surging Snehashish who banged in his right-footer for 2-0.
Yakubu made up for his misses and gave the side some joy in the end when the Ghanaian nudged the ball in from a Sanju Pradhan cross in the dying minutes.
Mohun Bagan now have 36 points from 25 matches, while East Bengal have 29 from 24 matches. Sueoka’s instrumental work in the midfield earned him the man-of-the match award.
