I-League 2018-19: 3 reasons why Mohun Bagan won against Shillong Lajong
Mohun Bagan finally registered their first home win of this I-League season on Sunday. They defeated bottom-placed side Shillong Lajong 2-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium. After the away victory against Minerva Punjab, this is Mohun Bagan’s second successive win.
With this, the green and maroon side climbed to fifth place on the table with 15 points from nine matches, while Shillong Lajong’s misery continued for one more time as they remained on 11th with only four points from nine matches.
The last time Mohun Bagan won their home game in an I-League match was in January 7 this year, in the previous edition of the league, against Aizawl. This season, they drew with Aizawl and lost to Churchill Brothers and East Bengal in their previous three home matches.
Let us analyse the three reasons behind Mohun Bagan’s triumph:
#3 Omar-Yuta dominated on the midfield
In the Kolkata Derby, Mohun Bagan midfield was completely outplayed. There was no one who could hold the ball for some minutes other than Yuta Kinowaki. Omar Elhusseiny was wasteful and had to be substituted in the second half.
Against Minerva, they performed much better. But the performance of the midfielders against Shillong Lajong was simply the best. Credits should be given to Omar Elhusseiny and Yuta Kinowaki for producing a near flawless performance.
From the very first minute, the Egyptian and Japanese combination started making an impact. Omar was more lethal than his Japanese teammate. He was deployed in the central midfield position and he rattled Lajong defence with his skills. In fact, he could’ve scored the first goal but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper Phurba Lachenpa.
“He is a class player. He can control the ball and make vital passes. He is improving every day and we hope he helps the team more in future,” Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said after the match.
On the other hand, Kinowaki played more as a defensive blocker but moved forward whenever the team were attacking. His work-rate was more than any other player on the field.
But it was his goal which caught the eye. In the 47th minute, a defensive mistake from Aibanbha Dohling allowed some space to shoot and the Japanese used the opportunity beautifully as his calm finish thudded into the net.