Cuttac: It turned out to be a story of so near and yet so far for Mohun Bagan at the Barabati Stadium here Sunday. Beginning the Federation Cup final as firm favourites against Bengaluru FC, the Mariners failed to produce an iota of the form that they had earlier displayed in the tournament. The team from the south rode on two precision strikes from CK Vineeth in extra-time to win their second Fed Cup title (the first coming in the 2014-15 season) and with it book their AFC Cup berth next season.
Slowing down the game and keeping possession of the ball for long stretches, Bengaluru FC demonstrated great tactical sense to thwart the Mohun Bagan trio of Sony Norde, Balwant Singh and Katsumi Yusa. They paced their game to perfection and after keeping Mohun Bagan at bay till the end of regulation time, Bengaluru FC delivered the sucker punch in extra-time to emerge worthy victors.
The Blues started well as Eugeneson Lyngdoh guided Udanta Singh from the left in the second minute of the match. Udanta delivered the perfect lob over the head of Mohun Bagan custodian Debjit Majumdar, but an alert Pritam Kotal cleared off the line.
On the counter, Katsumi, Darryl Duffy and Balwant tried to create some action from the right flank in the eighth minute but Sandesh Jhingan, rose to the occasion to nullify the threat.
The Lyngdoh-Udanta combo again broke through the Mohun Bagan defence midway into the first session. However, the latter’s spectacular half-volley on the turn hit the body of Seminlen Doungel on the way in. However, Doungel was in an offside position and the goal was disallowed.
After the change of ends Bengaluru FC started in the same vein, holding onto the ball and frustrating Mohun Bagan players. Striker Duffy found himself a spectator in the opposition middle third as Bengaluru completely cut off the supply line.
In the 49th minute defender John Johnson found Juanan with a perfect header off a Lyngdoh free-kick. Junanan promptly scored, but again the goal was disallowed by the linesman for offside evoking furious protests from the Bengaluru players. On the other hand, Norde had a chance to put Mohun Bagan up in the 60th minute. However, his shot off a cross from the left, was way off the mark.
The game then picked up pace and both sides managed to create a number of scoring opportunities with the defenders falling prey to the heat and humidity. Heavy legs became the order of the day and the game slowed down considerably. Jeje Lalpekhlua missed a chance for Mohun Bagan in the 78th minute while on the other hand, Doungel was twice blocked by Eduardo Ferreira.
Bengaluru coach made a tactical change when he substituted Doungel with Cornell Glen. The fresh legs of Glen caused a lot of problem to the Mohun Bagan defence. Glen’s ability to shield the ball created opportunities for the other players and had they been more opportunistic Bengaluru could have sealed off the match in the scheduled time.
Extra-time turned out to be crucial as Vineeth, who till midway into the second session had seemed lost, suddenly seemed to have found a fresh lease of life. In the first half of extra-time, Glen and Vineeth had two chances, but failed to utilise.
Call it irony or what, Vineeth produced a magical performance just days, after Kerala’s state Audit department where he was employed decided to terminate his services for low attendance percentage despite knowing that he is professional footballer.
Vineeth put Bengaluru in the lead in the 107th minute when taking advantage of a defensive lapse, he slotted the ball past Debjit in the Mohun Bagan goal, much to the dismay of 5,000-odd fans who had arrived from various parts of West Bengal to witness the game.
Down by a goal, Sanjoy Sen’s side went all out in search of an equaliser. While doing so, they left huge gaps in their own defensive third. Vineeth took advantage of it to get his second goal in the 119th minute and seal the title for ‘Boys in Blue’. It was indeed a creditable victory for the Blues who were without skipper and star striker Sunil Chhetri and reliable midfielder Cameron Watson.
Sen laments lack of team effort
Is Sanjoy Sen on his last legs as Mohun Bagan coach. Well it can happen as no side from Kolkata wants to finish second best and are never satisfied at anything less than the winners’ trophy. A few days after the I-League where Mohun Bagan had also finished second best to Aizwal FC, the club’s coach had himself said that an unsuccessful manager should himself relinquish his position. It remains to be seen what Sen does now.
The Mohun Bagan coach, however, was gracious in defeat Sunday and praised Bengaluru FC players for their effort in the final.
“They played really well and they deserved to win. I give full credit to them,” Sen told reporters after the game at the Barabati Stadium here. “However, I must state here that we did not play to our true potential,” he added.
Sen however, did not blame the players for the loss to Bengaluru FC. “As the coach of the team, I take the blame. We were a very strong team. They had injury problems, yet they overcame the hindrances and delivered when it mattered the most. Sadly we could not do that,” he stated.
“At hindsight we failed to combine as a team and depended too much on Sony Norde and individual brilliance. We were unlucky also as we missed a number of sitters in regulation time,” he added.
On the other hand, Bengaluru FC coach Alberto Roca heaped praise on their players for executing their plans well. “We had a certain plan and the players executed them well. We could have had a bigger margin of victory if we had utilised the chances that came our way,” informed Roca.
Roca also said that he was particularly happy at the way players shouldered responsibility in the absence of star striker and skipper Sunil Chhetri. “Everybody gave more than 110 per cent so we did not miss Sunil. But then had he been there, we could have certainly dominated more than we did today,” asserted Roca.
Rajendra Prasad Mohapatra, OP/PNN
