BAGAN ‘GOAN’ WITH THE WIND

It took all of just five minutes — from 41st to 46th — for Churchill Brothers to assert their dominance over Karim Bencherifa’s boys. Vashum got his opportunity to open the scoring when Odafa effected a deft touch after running into Bagan defenders Deepak Mondal and Sur Kumar Singh. The striker cleverly flicked the ball to Vashum,who unleashed a right-footer from 20-yards that beat the goalie.

Before the Bagan boys could realise what hit them,Odafa showcased his individual brilliance,effecting a blinding goal off a solo run in the dying moments of the first half. Latching on to a cunning through from Nascimento da Silveira in central midfield,Odafa took charge in a split second,scoring off a sudden burst of sprint right down the middle,even as Mohan Raj and Mondal looked on helplessly.

The contest was more or less one-sided,but Mohun Bagan did get their chances to put up a fight. There were phases when the green-and-maroon brigade applied pressure on Chruchill Brothers,coming up with a few opportunities every now and then. In the 60th minute,Gourmangi Singh foiled a feeble James Singh header off a Rakesh Masih chip. Marcos Pereira squandered twice,including a sitter when his header was off target in the 80th minute.

But overall,Mohun Bagan struggled against Churchill’s organised midfield display,and the local giants were at sea every time Odafa came up with his sharp movements and sudden runs in the attacking-third.

In the absence of Edeh Chidi,Mohun Bagan banked on Suraj Mondal. But the latter’s showing was so disappointing that the Bagan club management has decided to leave him out of the scheme of things for the Durand Cup. Mondal disregarded the coach’s plans,and no wonder Bagan paid a heavy price against a side much better prepared for the showdown.

Meanwhile,Tata Football Academy (TFA) may have bowed out of the tournament early,but their emphatic win against East Bengal has had its results. The team’s coach Vijay Kumar was adjudged the tournament’s Best Coach. Also,MS Sattar,Krishna Chandra Pal and SS Hakim were presented with cheques of Rs 1 lakh each.