Referee kept busy as Bagan beats ITI

By Our Sports Reporter

BANGALORE, APRIL 30. It was a crunch game. However, that is no reason for a game of football to replicate a boxing ring ambience of bruised noses and a black eye. The National Football League fixture between Mohun Bagan and Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) at the Football Stadium here on Monday had bad blood written all over it. And while referee S. Suresh wrung his hands and flashed cards, Mohun Bagan trooped out a 2-0 winner.

Soon news of East Bengal's victory against SBT trickled in and reigning champion Mohun Bagan had to rest content with the runner-up tag. East Bengal, with 46 points from 22 matches, stayed ahead of Mohun Bagan's 45 from 22 outings. Chairs being thrown onto the turf may have reiterated ITI's local support but the Telephonemen have to thank their stars in scraping past the relegation bogey with 22 points from as many matches.

The match start did crackle. Thankfully atleast then it was just about football and had nothing to do with trading punches. The excitement was unleashed by ITI as the local boys revelled in their underdog tag and pinned the Bengal citadel with a series of incisive runs. However, the old tale of last minute glitches cropped up and ITI failed to break its losing jinx.

ITI's George Ikeh did bear the attack on his tired legs but Mohun Bagan's bugbear proved to be Gnana Prakash. The dimunitive medio overlapped and kept Mohun Bagan custodian Bivash Ghosh on tenterhooks, a left-footer which scraped past the left upright being the pick. Mohun Bagan's Barretto did chip in with the odd run and the Bengal outfit spluttered in the initial minutes before gathering steam.

Barretto shows the way

Barretto, with 14 goals under his belt in the current NFL season, finally paved the way for Mohun Bagan's first strike. He latched on to a James Singh nudge from the centre and wedged into the left flank with relish while the ITI defence baulked. His lob from the left extreme had counterpart Basudeb Mondal attempting a header past a flailing Rishi Kapoor and soon the ball was in. The goal was awarded while ITI players claimed that the ball had rolled off Mondal's hand.

The 42nd minute strike helped Mohun Bagan come out with its guns blazing in the second half. And soon the lead got augmented in the 55th minute with Amar Ganguly's 30-yard pile- driver leaving ITI custodian Mark Mascarenhas clutching air. Amar had capitalised on a diagonal from James Singh while ITI's Firoz, Nazeer Jamal and Rishi Kapoor failed to fathom his moves.

The match ambled on with George's feint and ball control unnerving Mohun Bagan at times. The first hint of trouble brewed in the dying minutes when Basudeb Mondal and Kenneth Raju got into a needless altercation and traded punches. Soon the teams were locked in a snarling game and the odd punch continued despite referee S. Suresh and the organisers' attempts to control proceedings.

The unsavoury incident grabbed a darker hue as the crowd vent its ire by throwing chairs. Kenneth Raj and Basudeb Mondal did suffer red cards but the damage had been done. And the game's image was sullied.

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