Mohun Bagan well-placed after five rounds

S Ayyappa Swamy

There is no stopping Mohun Bagan's march now. Unbeaten after five rounds, they now occupy pole post in solitary splendour. The 1-0 victory margin over Mahindra United was a narrow win that the defending champions eked out in an away tie. Not only was it their fourth consecutive victory but also their second win in a match away. And this has certainly raised the stock of coach Subroto Bhattacharyya.

The match did not rise to any great standards and an injury-ridden Mahindra side were able to hold on to their much-acclaimed rivals quite well until they conceded the goal.

Some of the injured players like Tapon Ghosh and Raman Vijayan are on the road to fitness and if M. Najeeb too could get back onto the rails, the investment Mahindra and Mahindra have put in could prove worth it.

However, the surprise packet after five rounds continues to be debutants Vasco, who under former Salgaocar player Derrick Perreira have done astonishingly well to be joint second and pushed to third on goal-difference. They beat State Bank of Travancore, who finally get to play their first home match at Thiruvananthapuram in the sixth round, 2-1. Significantly, all the three goals came from penalties and in the second half too. Rarely do we get two penalties but here was the case of three.

The match was heading for a draw when Vasco’s Uzbeki striker Avazbek Koshimov got the match-winning penalty in added-on time.

Indian Telephone Industries managed what Churchill Brothers and Air-India could not at Kochi. They halted FC Kochin’s victory march, no, not with a victory, but forcing them to split points.

ITI, coached by former India captain Mohd. Habib, had taken the lead through K V Dhanesh, but FCK drew parity through Jo Paul Ancheri. Despite the best efforts of FCK they failed to get the match-winner.

The surprise of this round was East Bengal’s 2-0 win over Salgaocar. As per statistics, this is a first-time for the Calcutta outfit as in the previous four editions they have either drawn or lost their away matches at Calcutta. The result meant two things: Marcus Pacheco’s Salgaocar could not derive maximum advantage of a favourable draw and East Bengal moved up to fourth place with the three points.

Zee Churchill Brothers finally got their first victory and over current-minnows Jagatjit Cotton Textile Mills. With Uzbeki coach Gregory reinstated and striker Igor Shkvirin, leading scorer of the 4th NFL, back on the ground it was smooth sailing for the Goan champions. Shkvirin got two goals too and that was a bonus.

Former India coach and the venerable Amal Dutta needs to be given award for his strategies – how not to score goals and how best not to entertain. His tactical approach killed the excitement of Tollygunge’s match against Air-India and despite the Bombay team’s best efforts, there were no goals in the match.

Best goal: Jose Barretto’s gentle header for Mohun Bagan against Mahindra United.

Best match: Vasco beating SBT 2-1, all goals coming in penalties.

Disappointment: The dull and dreary draw between Air-India and Tollygunge Aggragami at Mumbai.

Results of the third round:

FC Kochin drew with ITI 1-1 at Kochi
Vasco beat SBT2-1 at Margao
Zee Churchill Bros. beat JCT 4-0 at Margao
Salgaocar lost to East Bengal 0-2 at Margao
Air-India drew with Tollygunge Aggragami 0-0 at Bombay
Mahindra United lost to Mohun Bagan 0-1 at Bombay.

Related reports:

FC Kochin lead National Football League race
F C Kochin stay ahead
Salgaocar close in on early leaders

5th National Football League
How the teams stand
Teams		P	W	D	L	F	A		Pts	GD
M Bagan		5	4	1	0	9	3		13	6
FC Kochin		5	3	2	0	9	6		11	3
Vasco		5	3	2	0	6	3		11	3
East Bengal		5	3	1	1	8	3		10	5
Salgaocar		5	3	0	2	9	6		9	3
Churchill		5	1	2	2	6	4		5	2
Mahindra		5	1	2	2	3	4		5	-1
ITI		5	1	2	2	2	3		5	-1
Air-India		5	1	2	2	4	7		5	-3
JCT		5	0	2	3	3	9		2	-6
SBT		5	0	2	3	2	8		2	-6
Tollygunge		5	0	2	3	1	6		2	-5