I-League: Round 11 Review – Title race wide open
Overview
This season’s English Premier League title race is turning out to be a very open one as predicted by many at the start of the season and the same goes for the I-League as after 11 rounds the top three are locked on the same number of points with even the 10th placed side of the 13 team league only seven points behind the leaders.
Salgaocar were the outright league leaders coming into this round but they were beaten 2-1 at home by debutants Bengaluru FC with Scotsman Darryl Duffy failing to convert a stoppage time penalty for the hosts. That result opened the door for Pune FC to go two points clear at the top but the Red Lizards could only come from behind to draw 1-1 with Dempo. Pune have a game in hand over fellow joint league leaders Salgaocar and Bengaluru but they can’t keep wasting these opportunities if they want to win the title.
Those two results gave United SC and Sporting Clube the chance to go joint top but both failed to capitalise. Sporting Clube conceded a stoppage time winner to lose 3-2 against I-League champions Churchill Brothers, who finally recorded their first win of the season. All three new foreign signings of Churchill Brothers – Naser Al Sebai (Syria), AbdelHamid Shabana (Egypt) and Yasser Shahin (Syria) – started together for the first time in this game and each of them made an impact as the Red Machines ended their winless streak in dramatic fashion.
United SC closed the gap on the leaders as they came from behind to hold East Bengal to a 1-1 stalemate. The purple shirts won’t be too disappointed with the result even if though they missed the opportunity to go top but East Bengal coach Armando Colaco will look back at the game and consider it as two dropped points because his side were very wasteful in front of goal. Despite having the best squad in the league, East Bengal still haven’t recorded back-to-back wins so far this campaign.
The round’s other Kolkata derby between Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting also ended all square but there were no goals in this encounter. Mohun Bagan skipper and talisman Odafa Okolie once again failed to get on the scoresheet despite having some great chances while Mohammedan Sporting defended solidly and kept their third straight clean sheet. Meanwhile Rangdajied United’s wait for their first-ever win in the I-League continues as they played out a 1-1 draw with Mumbai FC in Pune despite taking the lead.
Results
Salgaocar 1-2 Bengaluru FC; Mumbai FC 1-1 Rangdajied United; Mohun Bagan 0-0 Mohammedan Sporting; Dempo 1-1 Pune FC; Churchill Brothers 3-2 Sporting Clube; East Bengal 1-1 United SC.
Game of the round
Churchill Brothers 3-2 Sporting Clube
Churchill Brothers were involved in another five-goal thriller earlier in the season but on that occasion they were on the wrong side of it as they threw a two-goal lead and lost against United SC. This time the champions emerged victorious and that too in dramatic fashion. Prior to this game, Churchill Brothers had managed only five goals in nine matches but the club management were hopeful of an improvement on that front with the additions of Egyptian attacking midfielder Abdel Hamid Shabana and Syrian striker Yasser Shahin.
Shabana made an instant impact as he scored within two minutes of his Indian football debut, finishing off a fine team move following a nice low cross from Balwant Singh. But predictably Churchill Brothers conceded the equaliser just five minutes later as Boima Karpeh got in front of another Churchill Brothers debutant Naser Al Sebai to nod home Keenan Almeida’s cross.
Both teams had chances to score after that but either poor finishing or misfortune kept the score at 1-1 until the 37th minute when Balwant put the Red Machines back in front. Sporting Clube custodian Ravi Kumar should have done better to stop Balwant’s shot but Churchill Brothers were rewarded for their positivity.
Churchill Brothers had chances to kill the game off in the first half itself but Shabana’s effort was saved by Ravi Kumar. In the second half it was a case of holding on to their slender lead and playing on the counter attacks for Churchill Brothers. Sporting Clube were helping Churchill’s cause by either shooting unnecessarily from distance or picking the wrong option in the final pass.
It looked like Churchill Brothers would go on to win for the first time this season but disaster struck them in the 89th minute when Pratesh Shirodkar netted the equaliser. Churchill Brothers’ defence looked tired and were punished for a lapse of concentration. Their technical director Subhash Bhommick brought on Jaison Vales at the start of stoppage time and incredibly Vales netted the winner with almost the last act of the game. Another substitute Anthony Pereira played in a well-measured cross which caught Ravi Kumar out of position and Vales found the back of the net much to the delight of the Churchill camp.
On the balance of play, Churchill possibly deserved to win and the whole club management will now breathe a huge sigh of relief and hope that this win will be the first of many more for the rest of the campaign.
Result of the round
Salgaocar 1-2 Bengaluru FC
Salgaocar have been one of the few consistent teams so far in this campaign and a couple of away wins in Kolkata showed their title credentials. But the Goan outfit came into this match on the back of consecutive draws and thus needed a win to remain in pole position. Opponents Bengaluru FC also had their problems as they picked just one point in their previous three away games and failed to score in their last two matches.
Despite the issues of the two sides, it was still a fixture between the first and third team of the table and thus it was always going to be a tight encounter. Liberian John Menyongar put visitors Bengaluru FC in front after scoring from a well-worked short corner but young Gilbert Oliveira equalised almost instantly with a superb long range effort.
Both teams had chances to score after that but it was Bengaluru who went in front in the second half through Beingaichho Beikhokhei, who scored after a fine team move. As Salgaocar searched for the equaliser, the match became an intense physical battle with both teams making fully committed challenges, sometimes illegally and that led to frequent off-the-ball altercations. There was always going to be a twist in the tale and it came in stoppage time as Salgaocar were awarded a penalty with Englishman John Johnson bringing down Scotsman Darryl Duffy inside the box.
Being one of the joint top scorers in the league, Duffy was expected to score from the spot but his effort was saved by Pawan Kumar. The young Bengaluru FC custodian has now saved three spot-kicks this season and the third one earned his club their first-ever away win. The drama didn’t end there as players of both teams had scuffles at the full-time whistle with bottles being thrown on to the pitch.
The result highlighted the weaknesses of Salgaocar as the Goan club have been over-dependent on Duffy for goals so when he has had an off day they have lacked the cutting edge in the final third. Gilbert’s stunner bailed them out against Rangdajied earlier this month but this time around it wasn’t enough and now coach Derrick Pereira has his work cut out as his side are winless in three.
Bengaluru FC showed their potential despite being a young squad as they produced a performance and result away from the home comforts of the Bangalore Football Stadium. With the match becoming a physical contest too in the second period, Bengaluru’s youngsters exhibited great character to maintain their composure while the senior players also played their part. Coach Ashley Westwood certainly has got the balance of youth and experience right and with time his team can only get better.
More than anything, this match gave further proof of the openness of this season’s title race and more such twists are expected as the season progresses.
Best Players
Foreigner – Luciano Sobrosa (Mohammedan Sporting)
The Brazilian has been inspirational for the Kolkata giants as they have lost just once in six matches with him in the side. Luciano produced another superb performance at the back, this time earning his side a clean sheet against Odafa and company.
Indian – Balwant Singh (Churchill Brothers)
The former India under-23 international seems to be rejuvenated under Subhash Bhowmick after being almost anonymous for the last two seasons. He scored one and set up another in the win over Sporting Clube and is currently the highest Indian scorer with four goals.
Controversy
Usually we see crowd trouble happening in Kolkata but in this round Goa’s Duler Stadium saw some ugly scenes during and after the Salgaocar – Bengaluru FC clash. The game had a feisty atmosphere because of several off-the-ball challenges and a section of the crowd started throwing bottles into the ground at full time after the home team had failed to convert a last minute penalty which would have leveled the score. At the post-match press conference, Salgaocar coach Derrick Pereira reportedly blamed officials of Bengaluru FC for instigating the crowd.
Players from both sides were also seen having a go at each other at full time and it remains to be seen what action the AIFF takes. Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan want the Indian federation to be strict especially after the two were fined for the firecrackers that were burst in Sunday’s derby. East Bengal were also unhappy with the refereeing in their match against United SC but the big controversy of this round certainly happened in Goa and also highlighted the security issues in the Duler Stadium which is being used temporarily until either the Tilak Maidan in Vasco or Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Margao is ready for action.
The Table
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points | GD |
| Salgaocar | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 18 | +7 |
| Bengaluru FC | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 18 | +5 |
| Pune FC | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 18 | +5 |
| United SC | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | +3 |
| Sporting Clube | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | +2 |
| Shillong Lajong | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Mohammedan Sporting | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -1 |
| East Bengal | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | +4 |
| Mohun Bagan | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | -2 |
| Dempo | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 11 | -3 |
| Mumbai FC | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -3 |
| Churchill Brothers | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | -5 |
| Rangdajied United | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | -12 |