Bagan walk a tightrope, set date with EB

Mohun Bagan came back from the brink. The played the second half against Air India as if it was nobody8217;s business, scoring two goals in the process and ensuring a berth in the semi-final of the 30th Federation Cup.

Mohun Bagan came back from the brink. The played the second half against Air India as if it was nobody8217;s business, scoring two goals in the process and ensuring a berth in the semi-final of the 30th Federation Cup.

At half time, the story was heading in a different direction though. The Airmen took the lead in the 26th minute through Soccor Velho in this must-win tie at the Barasat Stadium. Bagan were looking listless. Then coach Karim Bencherifa introduced Lalkamal Bhowmick, which turned out to be a masterstroke. The latter infused a new lease of life in the Bagan midfield, scored the equaliser with a 25-yard pile-driver in the 53rd minute and ensured Baichung Bhutia and Jose Barreto got a lot more balls upfront. The winning goal came in the 60th minute as Marcos Pereira out-thought Air India goalie Arup Debnath from a 20-yard freekick.

Air India had a golden opportunity to restore parity in the 74th minute when a pathetic J Anandavasan handled the ball inside the box to concede a penalty. Ravinder Singh scored in his first attempt but referee Pradeep Kumar ordered a retake as the shot was taken before the whistle was blown. A nervy Ravinder couldn8217;t get the better of Bagan goalkeeper Sangram Mukherjee in his second attempt and that was the end of the story as far as the Mumbai outfit was concerned.

In fact, nothing went right for them today. A traffic jam on EM Bypass delayed their arrival at the venue and the match started 30 minutes late. Then there was that penalty fiasco that left Air India coach Bimal Ghosh fuming. However, in sports, winners take it all and Bagan were celebrating after the final whistle. They will now take on arch-rivals East Bengal in the semi-final on Thursday, while the other semi-final will see a Goan derby between Dempo SC and Churchill Brothers.

Earlier, Vasco Sports Club of Goa rode on Ravshan Teshabaev8217;s 70th minute strike to win 1-0 win over Oil India.

The Goan outfit basically capitalised on Oil India8217;s inexperience. Vasco goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani also turned out to be the saviour for his side on a few occasions. Still, the story could have been entirely different had Oil India8217;s foreign recruit Okwuelum Ezekiel converted a penalty in the first half. Coach Subrata Bhattacharya later criticised Ezekiel openly. 8220;Such type of foreigners I cannot accept8230; I will report this to the management,8221; Bhattacharya said.

Vasco coach Elvis Goes, on the other hand, gave credit to his boys saying they eventually 8220;proved a point8221;.

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Vasco would have been through to the semi-final had the second match ended in a draw.

Mohun Bagan soured their party.