Mohun Bagan rule

A team with the likes of Baichung Bhutia, Jose Barreto in their ranks and wily Karim Bencherifa on the bench, are too professional to be distracted by any off-the-field incidents. Against their arch-rivals at Yuba Bharati Krirangan YBK, they proved that they were too tough a nut to crack despite the fact that injuries and suspension forced them to field a second-string XI.

Peter Odafe, Habibur Rahaman Mondal, Dipak Mondal have been nursing injuries and were ruled out of this match. Isfaq Ahmed was out suspended. Bhutia made a very brief appearance. Still, Bagan finished as the better side in a 1-1 draw. The result, however, was enough to give them back-to-back CFL titles.

A win definitely would have been an icing on the cake and it looked like that they were on course till an Edmilson Maques blinder 8212; a 25-yard free-kick 8212; in the 83rd minute restored parity. Earlier, Bagan took the lead in the 25th minute through a Jose Barreto penalty.

The draw took the green-and-maroon to 31 points from 14 matches, insurmountable by any other team in the CFL. Md Sporting, who were Bagan8217;s nearest rival, can reach 30 for maximum if they win their last match against Chirag United tomorrow.

The Bagan fans, who already had a celebration after the match against George Telegraph, wanted seven in a row against East Bengal at YBK. They were a tad disappointed. Some of them unnecessarily got involved in a scuffle with the East Bengal crowd after the match.

Temper flew on the ground as well with seven players receiving yellow. East Begal8217;s Rahim Nabi had to leave the field as S James Singh8217;s tackle landed on his jaw. James escaped marching orders. Referee Mrinanshu Bhattacharya erred on occasions.

Bagan took the lead as East Bengal centreback Nirmal Chhetri made hash of a simple clearance. He had all the time in the world but deposited the ball to Barreto. The latter sent a through pass to Shylo Malaswamtlunga who cut inside the 18-yard box and was tripped by Chhetri. Berreto didn8217;t miss from the sport. Strangely, East Bengal went into a shell after conceding the goal.

For first 15 minutes, they had the better of the exchanges with Asim Biswas playing well upfront. But with no proper midfield functioning, their attacks gradually became too predictable. They tried to make inroads with high crosses from the flanks. Bagan central defenders, tall and lanky Anand Vasan and NS Manju were only too comfortable against that style of play.

East Bengal8217;s first and only chance came in the 28th minute when an unmarked Nabi couldn8217;t convert an Alvito D8217;Cunha free-kick from close range. The header went wide.

Bagan, on the other hand, had better goal-scoring opportunities. Barreto should have doubled the lead in the 62nd minute.

Eight years ago, Bagan and East Bengal had met in the last match of the National League with the former having already won the title. The then East Bengal coach Subhas Bhowmick was able to motivate his players who played for pride and won 3-1. This East Bengal side seemed to have little stomach for fight.