I-League 2018-19, Indian Arrows 0-2 Mohun Bagan: 5 talking points
Mohun Bagan registered their first win of this season’s Hero I-League after their comfortable 2-0 victory against Indian Arrows at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Saturday.
The Kolkata club now leapfrogged others to claim the third spot in the league table, behind Chennai City and arch-rivals East Bengal, who have played one match less.
The match was a kind of confidence booster for Mohun Bagan after their two back to back draws against Gokulam Kerala FC and Aizawl FC. They claimed all the three points though but could’ve performed much better, considering the weak opposition they had.
Indian Arrows, coming to the game after a win against Shillong Lajong, remained in the eighth position with three points from as many games.
They should now go back to the drawing board after another lacklustre display when they failed to tick all the boxes.
Around half an hour after the start of the match, Indian Arrows were defending astutely, much to the frustrations for the green and maroon club.
Finally, Dipanda Dicka broke the deadlock with a superb finish from his head from Henry Kisekka’s pass.
The Cameroonian doubled the lead from the spot after Boris Thangjam handled the ball inside the box. Arrows came to close to scoring quite a few times but failed to find the back of the net.
Let us look at the five points from the match:
#5 Pintu and Arijit shine
For most of the game, there was one thing constant – Pintu Mahata providing crosses from the right flank. The boy from Jangalmahal in West Bengal is growing his stature with every match. He has become an influential player in the team already.
Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakroborty included Sourav Das in his playing XI. As a result, Oman Elhusseiny and Mahata were deployed as wingers.
Mahata was his lethal best from the right side. With his raw pace and ability to dribble past defenders, he had no problem in putting pressure in Arrows defence.
Bagui was also in form on Saturday. He overlapped constantly to support his teammates. He is regular set-piece taker of the team and created few chances from there also. He moved back beautifully during Arrows’ attack and ensured there was no danger in his area.