Bhutia stars in Bagan victory

Mighty Mohun Bagan looked clueless against hosts Mumbai FC for a good 70-plus minutes on Friday.

Mighty Mohun Bagan looked clueless against hosts Mumbai FC for a good 70-plus minutes on Friday. Perhaps the defeat they suffered in their own backyard in the initial stages of the I League at the hands of the Mumbai outfit played too much in their minds.

However,Bagan skipper Bhaichung Bhutia broke open the shackles when he slammed in an opportunistic goal in the 72nd minute to breach the hosts defence and open the floodgates. Two more goals were thereafter banged in from a rejuvenated side which then simply decimated the Mumbai outfit 3-0 at the Cooperage ground on Friday.

Striker Jose Barreto (80th minute) and substitute Pachau Lalampuia (90th,who had replaced Man of the Match Bhutia,fired in salvos to avenge Bagans shock defeat in the first phase.

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Though my goal was important,I feel it was a complete team effort, said Bhutia,sporting bleached and coloured hair to the delight of the 50-odd supporters,who literally jostled among themselves to lift the Indian skipper after the match.

Its not easy to score on this ground and I guess thats why my side struggled. But finally Im happy that we are going back with full points in our kitty, he said. They (Mumbai FC) are a very good side,I feel we are lucky to have come through this time, added Bhutia.

The win swelled Bagan’s tally to 24 points that keeps them just below Sporting Clube de Goa,who are perched at the top of the elite table with 25 points,while Mumbai FC (19) remained fourth behind Churchill Brothers 20 points.

JCT beat Dempo

Ludhiana: With goals drying up,much was expected from JCT new signing Paul MacJames. But even though the Nigerian impressed with his skills,it was left to Baljit Sahni to power the hosts to a morale-boosting 2-1 win over defending champions Dempo SC in the I-League match that was played at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium on Friday.

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Plagued with injuries for most of the season,Baljit returned to his best on home ground after attending his first ever senior national camp at Goa with a double strike in the first half. JCT couldnt have asked for a better start,going ahead in the very first minute. Showing great ball control,Eduardo grabbed a header from Paul and fed Baljit,who made no mistake in directing the ball into the net.

The local outfit grew in confidence and attacked repeatedly,and their hard work was rewarded in the 16th minute,when Baljit came up with another stunner. Fed again by Edu,he surged ahead,controlled the ball and slammed the ball into the left side of the goal on the turn. Dempo,in contrast,looked jaded and,but for a few missed chances from the JCT strikers,could have lost by a bigger margin.