I-League 2018-19: 3 things Mohun Bagan need to sort immediately to challenge for the title
Just two points from their opening two matches. Not the ideal start that Mohun Bagan would’ve hoped for before the start of the I-League season.
Being one of the main contenders for the title, something is not right for the Kolkata outfit at this moment and they need to do few twists and turns to revive their campaign and challenge for the I-League title.
The green and maroons faced Gokulam Kerala FC in their first match of this season. Mohun Bagan had never won against the Kozhikode-based club in the previous two meetings.
They started on attacking note and gave their opponents a run for their money. Eventually, they took the lead when Henry Kisekka scored against his former club.
The situation changed in the second half as Gokulam made a brilliant turnaround and Rajesh Soosainayagam made life hell for Mohun Bagan defenders.
He found an able partner in Arjun Jayaraj. Under immense pressure, Mohun Bagan conceded an own goal and never got back into the game.
Mohun Bagan again tried to dominate right from the start against Aizawl FC but conceded a goal against the run of play.
They got some breather when Kimkima equalized in the first half. Looking for more goals, coach Sankarlal Chakroborty introduced Sony Norde and the Haitian deservedly got his team the lead through some individual brilliance.
However, the green and maroon side couldn’t come with full points as David Lalrinmuana scored from a direct free-kick in the dying moments.
Mohun Bagan will face Indian Arrows in their next game and will travel to Srinagar to play another tough match against Real Kashmir. But before their tough tests, they need to look at certain areas which can effectively revive their campaign:
#3 Strikers need to find their scoring boots
Mohun Bagan probably have the best-attacking line-up among all the I-League teams. In Dipanda Dicka and Henry Kisekka, Mohun Bagan has two prolific goal-getters.
Azharuddin Mallik, who is also touted as another talented youngster, can be useful during tough moments.
But all of them failed to impress so far. Kisekka may have got one goal against his former team, but considering the number of chances he got, he could’ve easily increased his tally.
In his last year with Gokulam Kerala FC, Kisekka caught everyone’s eye with his ability to convert goals in each chance.
He scored against East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and other big teams. He was also in form in the Calcutta Football League but suddenly there’s been a drop in his concentration.
But it is Dicka’s off-form that raised many eyebrows. Dicka was in sublime form couple of months ago, having found the back of the net regularly.
He scored five goals in the CFL to help his team conquer the title. However, in the I-League, he was wasteful in the first two matches.
He was kept under check against Gokulam Kerala FC but he could’ve easily managed a hat-trick against Aizawl. Only he could do was to score a goal which was disallowed for offside.
The strikers may be the reason the former I-League champions are lacking behind. But once they find their form, it would be tough to resist them from scoring goals.