Mohun Bagan maintain perfect record in Asia by defeating Yangon 3-2 thanks to Jeje's brace

CONTINUING THEIR winning run in the AFC Cup, Mohun Bagan overcame Yangon United 3-2 in a tight game at Guwahati.

Despite having rested Cornell Glen for this match, head coach Sanjoy Sen stuck to his standard 4-4-2 formation by sticking in Subhash Singh up front. Although Singh didn't have much of a memorable game, the Mariners' attack was never found lacking thanks to the usual destructive combination of Jeje in the middle with Sony Norde and Katsumi Yusa manning the wings.

Within 10 minutes, Mohun Bagan took the lead. Katsumi Yusa took a free kick that found Sony Norde inside Yangon box, and the Haitian international made no mistake heading it into the net. A dominant Bagan got off on the right foot; it was 1-0.

And in another 10 minutes the lead was doubled. Sony Norde made a brilliant run up the left flank and sent in a well-measured cross to Jeje Lalpekhlua who finished well. With Bagan 2-0 up, it looked set to be a repeat of the previous matches where the I-League champions won by large margins.

But Yangon were hell-bent on a comeback. Right after the half hour mark they invaded the penalty box and found a player brought down, resulting in a penalty. Brazilian striker Marcelo Fernandes stepped up to take the penalty, sent Debjit the other way and scored. It was 2-1 and the game was on.

In the second half the visitors fought tooth and nail to make a comeback. And before long they had the chance. They got a corner kick which, when delivered, caught the Bagan defense unable to handle the traffic inside the box and Marcelo Fernandes managed to get the second goal of the night. Suddenly it was 2-2 and the pressure was now on Bagan to show further initiative to get a win.

And they did that almost immediately. The moment the game resumed Katsumi Yusa managed to get the ball high up in the right flank, sent a cross into the box for Jeje who sent it past the Yangon keeper to complete his own brace. With 5 goals to his name, Jeje surpassed Lalrindika Ralte's record of scoring 4 goals in 1 edition of AFC Cup. And Mohun Bagan snatched back the momentum of the game, leading once again by a 3-2 margin.

Bagan could have gotten more goals but Subhash Singh missed a couple of easy chances to score up front. In the dying minutes Yangon came close to scoring but Debjit stood tall and kept out a close-range shot from Adilson. The score remained the same at final whistle; 3-2 in favour of the Mariners.

With 3 wins in 3 games, Mohun Bagan are not only at the top of Group G in AFC Cup, they have also nearly secured a place in the second round. And interestingly, this was the first time they managed to win 3 matches back to back this season in all competitions. The Mariners seem to be on a rare run of form; and their fans will hope that they can hold onto this momentum even after the international break when they make the final effort to win the I-League as well as chase their Asian dream in the business end of the AFC Cup.