All contenders remain in contention

CALCUTTA, FEB 27: The 17th round of the National Football League changed little as far as the standings are concerned. Mohun Bagan remaine...

CALCUTTA, FEB 27: The 17th round of the National Football League changed little as far as the standings are concerned. Mohun Bagan remained at the top and also managed to increase the gap with second-placed Churchill Brothers. Leading by a slender one point after the 16th round, they are now ahead by three points. Bagan collected three points against Mahindras in Mumbai while Churchill could gain only one point from their drawn encounter against FC Kochin. Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills held on to their third place after beating Dempo in Goa.

East Bengal might have hit the winning track with four straight victories, but they are yet to get into their rhythm. Medio’s Emmanuel Opoku and Dipankar Roy danced past the BSF defenders a number of times, but the mid-field failed to perform as a unit. The strikers too lacked the proper finish. Faced by more organised teams like Tollygunge Aggragami (their next round opponents), East Bengal might find it a bit difficult. They will be looking to avenge their first leg defeat to Tollygunge.

Coach Subhash Bhowmik too effected some surprising substitutions, waiting till the 78th minute to bring in Tushar Rakshit and the 88th minute to give Willie Brown his first feel of the match. True, BSF, disorganised as they were, did not call for a full-strength starting line-up. However, at this juncture of the League, all the teams will be satisfied with nothing less than a win in every game.

Story continues below this ad

East Bengal moved up to the seventh spot and are a point behind Tollygunge.

Salgaocar’s win over Indian Telephone Industries ensured that they move up to the fourth spot, ahead of Mahindras. The defending champions are eight points behind leaders Bagan, quite reachable at this stage.

State bank of Travancore are finding it difficult to check their slide. They might have expected to win the game against Tollygunge after going 2-0 up. But the wily Amal Dutta’s team had other ideas. SBT coach Mohammad Najeeb urprising kept the experienced duo VP Shaji and Jiju Jacob on the benches. Shaji as fully recovered from an injury and might have made a difference had he been played. The coach wasn’t too forthcoming with encouragements either when his team ad scored the goals.

Standings

Teams P W D L Gf Ga Pts

Mohun Bagan 17 10 5 2 23 13 35

Churchill 17 9 5 3 28 13 32

JCT 17 8 6 4 18 11 30

Salgaocar 16 7 6 3 13 7 27

Mahindras 17 6 7 4 21 12 25

Tollugunge 15 6 6 5 17 19 24

East Bengal 17 6 5 6 19 18 23

FC Kochin 15 5 7 3 15 14 22

SBT 17 6 2 9 13 20 20

ITI 17 2 6 9 11 20 12

Dempo 16 1 6 9 7 24 9

BSF 17 2 3 12 7 21 9.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the designation gives law enforcement “enhanced powers to combat a group that has instilled fear through violence and intimidation”.

Canada designates Lawrence Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity

Cities3 hr ago

The Canadian government has labeled the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist group, granting authorities more authority to combat their violent behavior. The gang, operating in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta, has been connected to 50+ violent incidents since 2023.

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS