Mohun Bagan begin with a bang

Chidi scored his first goal in the fourth minute when George custodian Shibram Dey failed to collect a James Singh floater and the ball fell nicely for the Nigerian to tap home.

James doubled the advantage in the 37th minute. Marcos Pereira sent a long ball which found James inside the box. His looping header went into the far corner of the net. In between,Chidi missed a penalty that was awarded when he was brought down inside the box by George defender Debkumar Sashmal. Chidi went for power but hit over the bar.

The Nigerian,however,made amends with a delightful goal in the 40th minute. He collected a Kalia Kulothungan through pass,evaded the off-side trap and outthought the goalkeeper with a neat placing to the far post. A 20,000-strong crowd was in raptures.

By half-time the match was all but over. George,however,tried to bounce back making a series of raids in the first quarter of the second half. They stretched the game to the flanks and took control of the midfield as some of Bagan midfielders looked a little tired in heavy underfoot conditions.

Pradip Roy had a chance to reduce the margin in the 52nd minute but was but Bagan left back Mohan Raj was on his way. Then,Ndudrim Henry was brought down inside the box by Bagan goalie Sangram Mukherjee in the 57th minute,but referee Debashis Mishra denied a clear penalty. George were again denied in the 65th minute,this time by the woodwork,and Pintu Prasad was the unlucky player. A couple of minutes on,Abiola Omotayo’s header came off the upright.

Bagan got back into the game in the last 15 minutes with Kumar scoring the fourth goal in the 86th minute. The midfielder,who joined the green-and-maroons from George this season,unleashed a 35-yard pile-driver that thudded into the back of the net.

Overall,it was a satisfactory performance by the I-League runners-up with two foreigners Pereira and Chidi gelling well and new recruits like Snehashis Chakraborty,Kulothungan and Micky Fernandes discharging their duties properly.

Churchill in semis,Md Sporting out
Meanwhile,I-League champions Churchill Brothers,who required a two-goal winning margin to progress into the last four stage,were clinical in their effort against Lajong FC at the Barasat Stadium. Khanthang Paite opened the account for the Goans in the10th minute and Odafa Okolie scored in the 85th minute. The result saw Churchill reach the semi-final from Group B as they had a better goal average than Mohammedan Sporting. They,however,will miss Odafa in the semi-final,who received his second yellow card of the tournament on Friday and will be out,suspended.