I-League 2015/16: Katsumi’s strike powers Mohun Bagan past Sporting
A 73rd-minute goal from captain Yusa Katsumi helped defending champions Mohun Bagan earn a 1-0 victory against Sporting Clube de Goa at the Barasat District Sports Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday to take a three-point lead over Bengaluru FC at the top of the table in the 2015/16 I-League season.
Starting Line-ups:
Mohun Bagan: Debjit(GK), Raju, Luciano, Kinshuk, Dhana, Pronay, Katsumi(C), S. Norde, Brandon F, Glen, Jeje
Sporting Clube de Goa: Arindam(GK), Ravanan, Wadoo, Loveday, Nico Fernandes, Fulganco, Denson, Densil, G. Thakur, G. Martins, Odafa Okolie(C)
A 1-1 draw in the midweek game against Shillong Lajong helped Sanjoy Sen’s team to reclaim the top spot on the table on goal difference. With Bengaluru FC not playing this weekend, the Mariners went into the home match against Sporting hoping for three points to take a significant step in the title race. Sanjoy Sen dropped right-back Sarthak Golui and midfielders Kean Lewis and Bikramjit Singh from the XI that took on Shillong and brought in Raju Gaikwad, Brandon Fernandes and Pronay Halder.
On the other hand, Sporting came into the game against the defending champions after earning the tag of giant killers by defeating Bengaluru FC and Mumbai FC. Coach Mateus Costa made two changes to the XI that earned a 3-2 win against Mumbai last week with Glan Martins and Densil Theobald replacing Syrian medio Mahmoud Al Amnah and Marcus Mascarenhas.
A crunching tackle by Mohun Bagan left-back Dhanachandra Singh on the Flaming Oranje midfielder Ganesh Thakur in the first minute set a sign of things to come in the match with both teams going at each other for the three precious points. Dhanachandra was again in action a few minutes later this time hitting the crossbar with what looked like a cross. Cornell Glen rushed in to tap in the ball that ricocheted off the upright, but an alert Fulganco cleared it away to quash the hopes of a goal.
With Odafa leading the line on the counter-attacks, Sporting always looked dangerous on the ball even though the Mariners had the best chances of the first forty five minutes. An injury to Brandon Fernandes in the 28th minute saw Souvik Chakraborty replacing him in the midfield pushing skipper Yusa Katsumi into a more attacking role towards the right.
The ploy gave Bagan more effectiveness in the final third with Katsumi and Norde pestering both the full backs for fifteen minutes before the break. With Wadoo and Fulganco rooted to the defence, the flowing counter-attacks from the Flaming Oranje also faded away leaving Odafa alone at top.
Sanjoy Sen’s decision to stick with Cornell Glen, who has been going through poor form in the last few games, made Bagan pay in the second half with the striker making a mockery of a brilliant pass from Katsumi. The Mariners skipper tried to release the Trinidad and Tobago striker in a counter attack but Glen made a wrong run at the top leaving the skipper and the coach frustrated.
Sanjoy Sen quickly replaced Glen with Balwant Singh in attack to avoid two back-to-back home draws, and it worked instantly as skipper Yusa Katsumi put the Mariners into the lead in the 73rd minute. Katsumi started the move from the right and passed it to Norde in the left before arriving in the middle to tap in the ball past Arindam to put Bagan in the lead. The Mariners held their nerve in the final minutes and won the game 1-0 to go three points ahead of Bengaluru FC at the top of the table.Â
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