Sayantan Maitra
I-LEAGUE Media Team
NEW DELHI: Gameweek 13 of the Hero I-League saw the return leg of the highly anticipated game in Indian Football – the Kolkata Derby. Leaders McDowell’s Mohun Bagan went into the fixture as the favourites, and following the end of the match, they retained their status.
Kingfisher East Bengal tried their best throughout the game, creating a lot of chances, but they couldn’t get the equaliser following 90 mins of play. Balwant Singh gave the hosts the lead in the second half, and the score remained 1-0 till the end. However, Debjit Majumder stole the spotlight as he saved uncountable goal-scoring opportunities from Eelco Schattorie’s side.
Debjit’s heroics was cheered by the 58,000-strong crowd present at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Saturday, as well as fans from the opposing team. He was also rightly adjudged as the Hero of the Match.
The three points on the day gave Bagan a total tally of 21 points in the Hero I-League.
Shillong dark horses and Hero I-League debutantes Royal Wahingdoh climbed to the third position in the league, following a 2-0 victory over Pune FC, who were touted to be the favourites going into the match.
The goals came from Jackichand Singh on either halves of the game. The lightning fast winger has been in an unbelievable form, ever since returning from the International duties, where he got his senior team debut for the Indian Football Team.
He now has scored thrice in a span of two games, and judging by his form, one can only say that there are more goals to come.
In the other games of the round, the Clubs from Goa did relatively well as none of the three outfits recorded a loss. While Salgaocar FC won by a 3-1 scoreline against Mumbai FC, Sporting Clube de Goa and Dempo SC recorded draws in their respective matches.
Rocus Lamare, Bikash Jairu, and Jaison Vales scored in the game for Salgaocar to give them a much-needed win. The only consolation for Mumbai FC came through Milagres Gonsalves, however that was in the dying moments of the game.
Sporting Clube de Goa recorded a 1-1 draw against Shillong Lajong FC at the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda in the Gameweek. Anthony Wolfe scored an early goal for the home side in the first half, with an assist coming off Odafa Okolie. The goal was however cancelled out by in-form Lajong forward Cornell Glen just before the half time.
The game between Dempo SC and newbies Bharat FC got locked in a goalless stalemate, and it ended with a 0-0 result.
Top 3 Teams (in order of Ranking):
McDowell’s Mohun Bagan – 21 points
Bengaluru FC – 17 points (better head-to-head record against RWFC)
Royal Wahingdoh FC – 17 points
Top Goalscorer:
Ranti Martins (KEB) – 12 goals from 9 games
