Calcutta Football League: Mohun Bagan held by George Telegraph

After getting a good start with a win in the very first match of the season, Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan were held by George Telegraph in the second match.

As star striker Okolie Odafa was out of the match due to injury, Manish Bhargav and Sankar Oraon started upfront, Japanese midfielder Katsumi and Anyichie Echezona started among the foreigners.

A lot of chances were created by the midfield of Mohun Bagan in the both halfs, but both the strikers were unable to convert those chances into goals.

Wing play was absent in the whole match. Mohun Bagan was mainly depending upon long balls. For the mistake of the left back, George Telegraph striker Mane scored a goal in the first half.

Poor performance from Mohun Bagan continued in the second half. But Katsumi was able to strike and level the score in the 75th minute.

4th foreign recruit of Mohun Bagan Eric Muranda was on the field in the 2nd half, but he failed to leave any impression in his play. In the whole match, Katsumi gave the only notable performance. The match finished with scoreline 1-1.

At the end of the match, Bagan coach Karim Bencherifa blamed referee and George players for wasting time. But it was clear that Mohun Bagan surely lacks striking power without Odafa.

The pre-season  practice and all other works did not show any output yesterday. Supporters were disappointed with the performance of the team.

Supporters are concerned that if Mohun Bagan fails to secure win against a small team like George Telegraph in CFL, then what will the team do against strong I-league sides like Dempo, Churchill, East Bengal.