Mohun Bagan labours into semifinals

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, OCT. 4. Mohun Bagan finally managed to break the Manaksia Tollygunge Agragami jinx when it beat the latter by a slender 2-1 margin in the replay of the first quarterfinal of the 107th IFA Shield football tournament here at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday.

Rain washed out the first meeting between the two on Monday when the teams were locked 1-1 after 48 minutes of action. The win puts Mohun Bagan in the semifinals where it will meet defending champion Kingfisher East Bengal in the match scheduled at the same venue on Saturday.

More than arch-rival East Bengal, Mohun Bagan has been threatened by the Agragami scourge this season. Agragami, under seasoned coach Amal Dutta, has mastered the defensive game-plan to a great level. Each performance by the team has proved its credentials as an accomplished performer.

Mohun Bagan fell to a 0-2 loss against Agragami in the Calcutta Super Division league, which broke the former's run of 14 consecutive wins in the season. Bagan struggled against the same opposition again in the Shield quarterfinal managing a equaliser to have the scoreline 1-1 before rain interrupted play. And Thursday's replay did not see much of a difference as Mohun Bagan found itself under a lot of pressure both before and after the first goal was scored as late as in the 42nd minute.

Each Mohun Bagan attack was met with a stiff counter as Agragami utilised its three Nigerian recruits - forwards Akim Abul Alem and Moses Owira, and midfielder Adeola Adeyeri - to a good measure. It brought to the fore the meticulous planning of the Agragami coach who has really helped the team excel within its limits. Despite being low on star content the team contains a list of committed footballers who are always eager to carry out the logistics prepared by their astute coach.

The turf presented a grim picture as the rain-drenched surface hardly gave scope for a sensible contest. Both teams preferred to play with long lofted passes leaving the rest to chance after the ball landed on the slush. Bagan enjoyed a command over the midfield proceedings but the contest on the goal-mouth on most occasions saw the attackers outnumbered by a host of Agragami defenders - who definitely were present in more numbers than the usual.

After having seen three chances squandered, Bagan earned the break in a comical manner. The first effort from midfielder R.P. Singh, who was released in the box by a through- pass from Basudev Mondal, saw the ball getting stuck in the goal- mouth mud. Agragami stopper-back Subhasish Roy Chowdhury could only manage a feeble clearance and the ball reached another Bagan linkman James Singh, whose shot was blocked by the goalkeeper, Sandip Nundy. Striker Jose Barreto finally disposed the ball in to the net to end the drama in the 42nd minute.

The second session saw the mud coming to the aid of Agragami. Forward Akim Abul Alem found his 52nd minute grounder aided into the goal by Bagan left-back Lolendra Singh, who lost his foothold in the slippery goal-mouth soil while trying to clear the ball. Barreto made amends for the mistake of his defensive colleague when he capped a brilliant solo effort to regain the lead for Bagan in the 56th minute.

Sereiki, who found the going very tough on the sticky surface, earned his second booking of the match in the 78th minute for fouling Agragami forward Akim and was given marching orders by Tamil Nadu referee P. Bhaskar. Down to 10 men for the rest of the match, Bagan packed its defence with extra players and preserved the lead till the final whistle to ensure its passage to the semifinals.

Brazil's Palmeiras-B will take on Muktijoddha Sanshad of Bangladesh in the first semifinal to be played at the Municipal Stadium, Howrah on Friday.

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