I-League: Round 14 Review – Bengaluru extend lead; Rangdajied get first home win

Overview

This is undoubtedly the most competitive I-League campaign ever since its inception in 2007 but league leaders Bengaluru FC pulled further away from the chasing pack in the midweek round of matches after a thrilling 3-2 win away at Mohammedan Sporting. It was their fourth straight victory and third away success on the trot with club captain Sunil Chhetri netting a brace for the third consecutive game.

Other results also went Bengaluru’s way as title favourites East Bengal were held to a goalless draw by Salgaocar. The red-and-gold brigade have already dropped 15 points after 10 games and failed to score for the first time this season. But the biggest surprise was the defeat of Pune FC as they threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 against Rangdajied United. The Shillong club scored twice in stoppage time to record their first-ever home win in the I-League and the result will certainly increase the self-belief of their young squad.

Pune though saw their points tally increase by two as Salgaocar have been officially docked points for playing unregistered players in a couple of games. Rangdajied now have a four-point cushion over rock-bottom Churchill Brothers, who suffered their seventh defeat of the campaign against Shillong Lajong. Only one team will get relegated this term and the possibility of champions Churchill Brothers going down is increasing with every round as they are struggling to get results while teams around them are improving.

That win also saw Lajong move into the top four with Trinidad and Tobago World Cupper Cornell Glen scoring the winner. Churchill would be hoping that their newly signed T&T World Cupper Anthony Wolfe has a similar impact. Another Goan club that is struggling is record five-time champions Dempo as they have managed just two wins in 13 games but they will be satisfied to get a point away from home against United SC especially as they played without a foreigner.

Mohammedan Sporting could also get involved in the relegation battle if their form doesn’t improve as the black and whites are winless in four now. But Mumbai FC seems to be moving away from the drop zone as the 1-1 stalemate with Mohun Bagan extended their current unbeaten run to four matches. Mohun Bagan on the other hand once again failed to notch up back-to-back wins and only earned a point thanks to a late equaliser from CS Sabeeth.

Results

Churchill Brothers 0-1 Shillong Lajong; United SC 0-0 Dempo; Mohun Bagan 1-1 Mumbai FC; Mohammedan Sporting 2-3 Bengaluru FC; Salgaocar 0-0 East Bengal; Rangdajied United 3-2 Pune FC

Game of the round

Mohammedan Sporting 2-3 Bengaluru FC

There were two five-goal thrillers in this round but the one in Kolkata stood out because it even had crowd trouble and controversy. It was always going to be an interesting contest as coming into this fixture Mohammedan Sporting had one of the best defensive home records with five straight clean sheets while Bengaluru FC had scored the most goals in the league. All the pressure was on Mohammedan Sporting though as they were playing in front of their home fans and the Kolkata club started the game very brightly.

But Mohammedan were wasteful and also denied a penalty and Bengaluru punished them by taking the lead through John Menyongar after a well-worked corner. At 1-0 Bengaluru were guilty of some poor finishing and the hosts restored parity with a fortuitous goal that was later credited to Josimar. Having conceded from a corner in the first half one would have expected Mohammedan to be more alert during flagkicks in the second half but just three minutes after the restart India captain Sunil Chhetri scored from a corner. It was a sumptuous volley from Sunil and gave Mohammedan custodian Ashok Singh no chance.

Bengaluru’s lead didn’t last long though as Josimar made it 2-2 after pouncing on a rebound following Pawan Kumar’s save from substitute Syed Rahim Nabi. At that stage Mohammedan Sporting had the momentum but Bengaluru showed why they are the current table toppers as they weathered the home side’s pressure and scored from another corner. It is still a mystery whether Sunil’s header crossed the goal line as Collin Abranches attempted to clear but Mohammedan were guilty of poor marking again.

The home side had their chances to equalise but Bengaluru held on to complete a hattrick of away wins. Coach Ashley Westood might still not admit that his team are in the title race but halfway into the campaign the table can’t lie. Mohammedan suffered only their second home defeat but it was the fourth straight game without a win and that didn’t go down well with their supporters as bottles, chairs, stones were thrown onto the pitch as missiles with two-goal hero Sunil also tweeting, “Very very disappointed by few fans throwing stones at the ground..you can be passionate,u can curse and abuse but throwing stones is..Dangerous…nabi,Collin,me or rino anyone could have got seriously injured..it’s an humble request guys please be sensible before something.”