Kalyani: Daniel Cyrus’ first half strike helped Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan beat Indian Arrows by a solitary goal in a I-League match here Thursday. The goal came in the 19th minute of the game.
Kibu Vicuna stuck to his winning formula and named an unchanged line-up from Mohun Bagan’s thoroughly impressive win in Srinagar. Arrows head coach Shanmugam Venkatesh one the other hand, made just the one change, opting to field Harpreet Singh in a four-man defence.
Buoyed by the 8,538-strong Green and Maroons faithful at the Kalyani Stadium, the hosts were firmly in the driving seat in the opening stages of the match.
The first goal-bound opportunity fell in the way of Bagan, when in the 12th minute, a delivery by Fran Morante found Papa Diawara completely unmarked and despite having a free header on goal, he couldn’t capitalise.
Bagan, at this stage, were completely dictating the game, as the Arrows struggled for possession.
The deadlock was broken, when a Nongdamba Naorem shot ricocheted off Akash Mishra’s back, and with the ball still in the air, Cyrus unleashed a superb left-footed volley about 25 yards from goal, leaving Lalbiakhlua Jongte in the Arrows goal completely stranded.
The Green and Maroon brigade kept turning on the pressure, this time through VP Suhair. In the 24th minute, he made inroads into the box down the right through some smart footwork and after cutting in to his left, pulled the trigger with his weaker left foot, only to be denied by a great save from Jongte.
Coach Venkatesh was forced into making an early substitution in the 29th minute, seemingly frustrated with how the game was unfolding.
He took Harpreet Singh off, and brought on Aman Chetri, thus reverting to his previously tested 4-3-3. The Arrows, despite stringing passes together in the final third following Chetri’s introduction, struggled to pose any real threat as Mohun Bagan went into half time with a goal lead.
The hosts almost doubled their lead following the break. In the 48th minute, a Joseba Beitia corner was met by a towering Fran Gonzales, but his header hit the woodwork.
Much against the run of play, the Arrows almost found an equalizer when RV Hormipan got to the end of an Ayush Adhikari set-piece, but his header glanced inches across the far post.
The fourth consecutive victory for Bagan took them to the top of the Hero I-League standings with 13 points, while the Indian Arrows remain at the bottom with four points.
PTI