AFC Champions League 2016: Mohun Bagan defeat Tampines Rovers to enter round 2 of qualification
Goals from strikers Jeje Lalpekhlua, Cornell Glen and captain Yusa Katsumi helped Mohun Bagan defeat Singapore side Tampines Rovers 3-1 in the preliminary round of the AFC Champions League qualifier at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Starting Lineups:
Mohun Bagan: Debjit(GK), Pritam, Kinshuk, Luciano, Dhanchandra, Pronay, Souvik, Jeje, Katsumi(C), S.Norde, Glen
Tampines Rovers: Izwan(GK), Irwan, Kwon Jun, Noh Rahman, Afiq, Izzdin, Chris, Shahdan, Yasir, Hafiz, Fazrul(C)
Eyeing a place in the group stages of 2016 AFC Champions League, I-League champions Mohun Bagan started in the 4-2-3-1 formation with captain Yusa Katsumi, Jeje and Sony Norde behind striker Cornell Glen.
Tampines Rovers, who finished runners-up in the 2015 S-League in Singapore, started in a cautious 4-5-1 formation in an attempt to thwart the Mariners from scoring a goal.
However, Rovers coach Varadaraju Sundramoorthy’s hopes of stopping the dangerous front-line of Bagan went up in flames within the opening five minutes, as Jeje Lalpekhlua opened the scoring for the Kolkata team. Left back Dhanachandra Singh’s cross found Jeje in the box and the striker coolly flicked it into the net to beat Izwan Mahbud in the Rovers goal.
With one goal in the bag, Sanjoy Sen’s boys pushed forward, and almost added another in the 27th minute, only to see Cornell Glen smashing the glorious chance miles wide. The Trinidadian footballer missed another from the penalty spot a few minutes later, after South Korean defender Kwon Jun fouled the lanky forward in the box. The striker shot the ball straight at Izwan Mahbud in the Rovers goal, and the custodian easily parried it away, much to the frustration of the home crowd.
The Mariners finally doubled their lead in the 41st minute with Sony Norde running past five Rovers defenders and delivering the ball on a platter for Glen to score the goal. The striker somehow managed to put the ball behind the line after almost making a mess of it with his first touch. However, Bagan’s inability to convert their chances came to haunt them before the break, after midfielder Yasir Hanapi pulled one back for the Singapore team.
Tampines Rovers had the better start to the second half after coach Sundramoorthy injected much-needed pace into the attack by replacing Izzdin Shafiq with Canadian winger Jordan Webb. The Mighty Stags even put the ball into the net for an equalizer in the 48th minute, only to see the assistant referee's flag curtailing their celebrations.
With the Singapore team playing an open game, chances also fell in the way of Bagan forwards to increase the home team’s lead. Glen’s bad day in front of the goal continued as the striker fluffed his chances to add to the frustration of the crowd. The result was finally sealed in the 83rd minute with captain Yusa Katsumi sending the ball into the back of the net after Prabir Das headed a ball back across the goal. With the win, Mohun Bagan also became the first Indian club to register a victory in the AFC Champions League.
Mohun Bagan will now take on Shandong Luneng FC from China in the second preliminary round, at the Jinan Olympic Stadium in China on February 2.
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