Kolkata: From Mohun Bagan SG’s perspective, it might be a revenge served in the rain.
A little over three weeks after losing the Durand Cup final to NorthEast United FC, Mohun Bagan SG got even with the Highlanders 3-2 in their Indian Super League clash at the Salt Lake Stadium on Monday.
Juan Pedro Benali’s NorthEast raced to a 2-1 lead inside the opening half an hour when their Moroccan recruits Alaaeddine Ajaraie (5) and Mohammed Bemammer (24) rattled the Bagan defence.Although Jose Molina’s hosts found in young defender Dipendu Biswas an unlikely scorer to bring things on level terms briefly in the 10th minute, NEUFC were the better side, giving some hard evidence that their triumph over the green-and-maroon brigade in the Durand Cup final last month was not a fluke.
But when the second half started amid heavy downpour, Bagan changed the complexion of the game in a spectacular manner, pouring cold water on the visitors’ aspirations. Full-back Subhasish Bose swooped on an opportunity to make it 2-2 in the 61st minute and Jason Cummings, who replaced Manvir Singh on the hour mark, completed the turnaround, delivering the killer punch with a sumptuous strike in the 87th minute.
The match had all the ingredients of being a classic: Brilliant goals, superb counter-attack and a remarkable fightback. Molina even handed Jamie Maclaren his much-anticipated debut 10 minutes before the winning goal. But as far as Bagan’s fightback was concerned, it started with Greg Stewart’s corner and ended with NEUFC goalkeeper Gurmeet Singh failing to hold on to a headed pass towards his goal from Bagan defender Tom Alfred and letting the ball slip out of his hands. After Dimitri Petratos missed his chance, Subhasish was on hand to push it in.
NEUFC players cried for a foul on their goalkeeper but referee Jamal Mohamed remained unmoved.
The game got off to a boisterous start with both teams eager to play with an extra degree of intensity. It was the visitors who fired the early warning shot when Ajaraie hit the post in the second minute following a Jithin cross from the other end.
When Ajaraie came calling again three minutes later, the Bagan defence failed to stop the inevitable. Unable to make room for lining up his shot in the face of twin challenge from Asish Rai and Apuia, Ajaraie coolly delivered the ball for his countrymate Bemammer to meet it with a sweetly-timed volley with the outstep of his boot, the ball swerving inwards and settling into the net giving Kaith no chance to react.
Bagan reacted immediately. Petratos whipped in a free-kick towards the box and Dipendu rose to the occasion, brilliantly placing his header into the far corner of the box.
But NorthEast United regained the lead through a wonderful counter-attacking goal. The moment Bagan lost the ball in the rival box, Jithin injected a whole new meaning in it, launching into a quickfire countermove that scythed through the Bagan defence, which was still retreating to take shape in transition. Playing a diagonal 1-2 with Ajaraie, Jithin sent the ball again across the edge of the box and his Moroccan teammate came up with a brilliant left-footed finish, drilling it in past a diving Kaith.
A torrential rain welcomed the players back to the field after the break and this was where NEUFC lost the plot and Bagan turned it in their favour.
NEUFC custodian presented an opportunity and Subhasish swooped on it to make it 2-2. Then, a minute after Maclaren failed to cash in on another bloomer by Gurmeet, when he failed to clear a danger properly after coming out of his box, Cummings came to the fore, meeting another substitute Sahal Abdul Samad’s lay-off with a powerful strike from inside the box, sending the rain-bathed crowd into rapture.