Failed experiment:second string Mohun Bagan fall apart in Guwahati, lose 0-3 to South China
THE QUESTION OF THE NIGHT was, how could this Mohun Bagan team, that is being considered by some the greatest in the club's 127-year history, hold up against an international team if most of their prominent attackers weren't around to take the pressure off their defence?
The Mariners took on South China at Guwahati tonight, in an AFC Cup group stage game that had little significance for the Green and Maroons. They had already topped the group, and South China, who lost 0-4 in the reverse fixture, came in looking for a win to seal the second place for themselves. Sanjoy Sen rested most of the first team players, including Sony Norde, Luciano Sabrosa and Cornell Glen, for this match and started the likes of Subash Singh, Kean Lewis, Arnab Das Sharma and Sanjay Balmuchu; it was a great opportunity to test bench strength ahead of the big games on 21st and 24th May.
The result was eye-opening to say the least. The famed Bagan attack hardly got a shot on target throughout the whole game and failed to put up a comprehensive defence against the South China attack.
Chances were coming to South China gratuitously from early on in the game. But the first goal came around 20 minutes in, with the two defenders guarding Mahama Awal failed to keep up with him. Awal sent the cross to Law who slotted it in from close range.
Within 5 minutes came the second goal. Law took a corner kick that Chan sent Ryan Griffith's way, resulting in an easy finish.
Mahama Awal got his name on the scoresheet too a little later when Leung picked up a ball deflected by Abhishek Das and sent it his way. Once again it was an easy close range finish.
Luis Carloz even hit the post towards the end of the half. Thankfully for Bagan, the scoreline didn't read worse than 0-3 as the teams headed out for lemon break.
The second half saw Mohun Bagan go to a more defensive posture. Luciano Sabrosa came on replacing Katsumi Yusa to make for a heavier back. And the results were immediately visible.
Subash Singh got an easy chance to score. Soon Jeje had a chance to find the net. Even Lalkamal Bhowmick got a shot on target that was saved by the keeper.
The Mariners were looking a lot more composed. Souvik Chakraborti came on for Jeje and immediately got a shot that went just a bit too high.
They kept creating chances till the end and poor finishing wasted them all. Subash sent a gem of a pass to Kean Lewis who shot on the turn with only the keeper to beat and he couldn't keep it on target. That moment summed up Mohun Bagan's misfiring evening; where a defence could not hold its own without the leadership of Luciano Sabrosa, and the attackers wasted chances aplenty against a South China defence that ultimately did not have much to write home about. Although the Hong Kong club would be happy enough with these 3 points as it ensured they finished second in the group and made it to the knockouts alongside Bagan.
When the final whistle came, Sanjoy Sen must have breathed a sigh of relief that this was over. His intentions were to rest the big guns and avoid cards or injuries, which he did. Hopefully he will have a much better side to field on the upcoming games that matter.
