Smashing Jeje header rescues Mohun Bagan, ensures top spot in AFC Cup group stage

AN UNFORGETTABLE HEADER at the last minute from Jeje Lalpekhlua rescued Mohun Bagan as they stole a point from Maziya to ensure a top spot finish in their AFC Cup group with a game to spare. 

Bagan coach Sanjoy Sen brought in the likes of Subhash Singh and Sanjay Balmuchu into the squad, and wanted to take control of the game by keeping possession. Playing accordingly, the Mariners started slow and steady, and the home team responded by playing disrputive football full of fouls.

Zhiko brought down Jeje with a stud-up challenge. Undeterred, Jeje paired with Katsumi to launch an attack but got caught in an offside trap. 

But it was Maziya who came real close to scoring early on as Imaz Ahmed took a free kick from a scoring range that beat everyone, including keeper Arnab Das Sharma, but came off the woodwork.

Young Balmuchu was throwing himself around as Maziya enjoyed a period of good movement in the midfield, sometimes pressing the Bagan defence. In the end he made a tackle too aggressive and received a booking for it.

But the home team got taken aback when Raju Gaikwad sent in one of his massive long throws but they managed to recover from the shock. And he almost had them again when he passed the ball to Cornell Glen. The striker let fly, the keeper managed to get a hand to it, and the ball hit the post. 

Katsumi was giving everything to run the supply line to Jeje and Glen but nothing came off it, at half time the match was goalless.

The second half began with the home team putting in some extra effort to regain control of the game. And it was working. The Bagan defence was repeatedly put under pressure and beaten by pace, and it seemed like Maziya were edging closer to taking a lead. The Mariners got a chance to score via a Raju Gaikwad long throw but Katsumi's header went wide.

And then it came: the goal for Maziya. It was a mess to remember. Assadhulla Abdulla took the shot, it went through two defenders' legs, finally passing by right under a confused MB keeper's  fingers. It was 1-0 and suddenly the Mariners' smooth sailing in Asia was under threat. 

Cornell Glen had his moment of the game when he took a blatant dive inside the Maziya box and got booked for it. Bagan pressed back, Raju Gaikwad took a shot but a defender cleared it from goal-line.

Things became desperate as the clock ticked past 80 minutes. An upset seemed to be on as Bagan showed the urgency but not the discipline required to snatch a comeback.

Katsumi created the chance of the game when he got the ball in the middle of the park, made his way through a jungle of legs and passed it to young Prabir Das who had a clear shot. But in over-excitement he let fly with his left foot and it went way off the target. That was 3 minutes into extra time; with just about a minute left in the game.

And then came the final twist, in one of the final moments. Much like how Lajong snatched a draw from Bagan with a last-moment goal, Bagan did the same to Maziya. The ball came in from Prabir Das, a brilliant cross that saw Jeje launching into a full-stretch dive forward. The connection of ball and head was perfect, and the former flew into the net before the keeper could do anything. Jeje Lalpekhlua's goal tally in the tournament went up to 6, and he became a joint leading goal scorer in the tournament once again. But most importantly, he had rescued Mohun Bagan's cause.

It was 1-1. A draw, and enough to ensure Mohun Bagan a top spot in Group G. Not only does it signify a mission accomplished and preserves Bagan's unbeaten status in AFC Cup but also renders the mid-Federation Cup match against South China devoid of any consequence, which means Sanjoy Sen can afford to give his key players some much needed rest in that game.

It was the second time Mohun Bagan came back from behind to snatch a draw in the AFC Cup, both of them away from home. Hopefully it will serve to add to their confidence and enable them to correct the errors committed by Glen and other attackers today. Because in the highly competitive Federation Cup, being wasteful like this can easily prompt an elimination.