CFL 2017: Title race tightens as heavyweights East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting get big wins

THE TITLE RACE IN the Calcutta Football League has heightened up with the big three clubs scoring emphatic wins over the weekend.

After recovering from a shock loss to Patha Chakra, 2nd Division League club Mohammedan Sporting have made a comeback with two emphatic wins. They produced a dominant result against Tollygunge Agragami on Thursday, by a 5 goal margin. significantly, the goals all came from Indian players, with Sk Faiaz, Juten Murmu (2 goals), Dipbendu Duary and Debasish Prodhan all getting on the scoresheet.

Then, on Sunday, Southern Samity faced a similar dominance from Mohammedan. The Black and Whites won 3-0, scoring at regular intervals, with Sk Faiaz hitting the net twice and Jiten Murmu also scoring a late one.

Mohammedan Sporting are now on 6 points from 3 matches, and may get back in the top if East Bengal and Mohun Bagan take one bad step.

Mohun Bagan, meanwhile, are riding the vibes at their sold out home stadium. In their second match, new signing Chesterpaul Lyngdoh came alive with to help the Mariners break the deadlock after a goalless first half. After Lyngdoh got them the lead after the hour mark, Kamo and Shilton D'Silva scored as well, getting them a 3-0 win.

Tonight, they faced a young resilient Pathachakra side. After going down early from a strike by Nadong Bhutia, the Mariners fired back massively. The former Aizawl FC striker duo came alive for the Green and Maroons as Bayi Kamo fired 4 times into the net and Kromah also got a goal, ensuring a 5-2 win for Mohun Bagan.

The Red and Golds, after a shaky start against Peerless where Rahim Nabi's goal got them 1-1 at half-time, they came alive in the second half with 4 more strikes, finishing with a comfortable 5-1 win. Plaza, Gabriel and a scintillating hat-trick from Surabuddin did the trick for East Bengal.

As things stand, both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are on 9 points each after 3 matches, sporting a dominant +9 goal difference (11 scored, 2 conceded). The title race couldn't get more neck to neck.

The CFL is getting interesting with the heavyweights inching closer to facing their biggest challenges. If East Bengal win the title it'll be their record-setting 8th straight triumph but the road, so far without a bump, won't be so in the coming weeks.