Shoubhik Mukhopadhyay

NEW DELHI: McDowell Mohun Bagan shows no sign to stop this season under the professional tutelage of Sanjoy Sen. Had they conceded any point against newbie Bharat FC, title dream would have got shaken to some extent undoubtedly. But the Kolkata outfit had a different plan all together. Following some lacklustre performances in their backyard, Bharat FC travelled to Kolkata in search of some fresh air, which eventually eluded them. Albeit they had shown resilient display in the first 45 minutes, McDowell Mohun Bagan just ran them over in the next 45 minutes. Sony Norde whacked the first goal on 62 minutes and seven minutes later, he nailed the final one. While his goal tally climbed up to 6 goals from 11 outings, one better from his fellow teammate Balwant Singh, his team got 6 points clear from Bengaluru FC and Royal Wahingdoh. However, Royal Wahingdoh amassed a point against Shillong Lajong yesterday and leapfrogged Bengaluru FC to grab the 2nd spot.

Kingfisher East Bengal concluded the Pune sojourn on Sunday with an enviable 100% winning record. Eelco Schattorie boys started against Pune FC where they left it against the blue half of Pune the other day. Leading scorer Ranti Martins hit the roof of the net on 18 minutes and provided his team an early lead. Matthew Gonsalves cancelled out the lead and drew the parity on 37 minutes. He released a long ball which was almost going out. East Bengal goalie Abhijit Mondal jumped and tried to pump it over the net but only drove the ball to hit the net, Eelco fell aghast. Khabra scored another brilliant goal just 2 minutes after the break followed by a real screamer from fellow striker DUDU Omagbemi. The only East Bengal player who would regret the day was none other than custodian Abhijit Mondal. Mondal committed another blooper and gifted Darko Nikac their second goal. After the 2nd goal, home team hit all the cylinders and went all out for the eluding equalizer, though could not accumulate in the regulated 90 minutes. Eelco Shcattorie got some breathing space as they closed the gap with Pune FC to one point.

After the much debated match against Bengaluru FC, Mumbai FC was poised to take on Dempo SC at their home, Cooperage stadium. Trevor Morgan & co. was spot on since the kick-off and attacks flooded the Mumbai FC box, only to get obstructed time and again. Carlos Hernandez, Lenny Rodrigues, Godwin Franco, Amiri combined well and kept the Mumbai FC defence on their toes throughout. Just 1 minute to the whistle, the Costa Rican world cupper cut into the penalty box from the right only to get fouled by Kuttimani. Referee did not hesitate to award the Goan outfit a penalty which Carlos converted successfully to bag all important three points.

Game week 16 was scheduled to come to an end with the mouth watering Shillong Derby. As the first leg went in favour of Royal Wahingdoh, Shillong Lajong FC was adamant to triumph over the yellow half of Shillong in the second leg. On the very first minute, they almost got the breakthrough only to get denied by the crossbar. Uilliams played the instrumental role in attacking from flanks to coordinate with Glen and Doungel. Not only that, Shillong Lajong defenders negated the pacy counter attacks, thanks to Seityasen Singh and Tamang. While most the battles were taking place in the midfield, suddenly Shillong Lajong drew the first blood in the form of prodigy Nim Dorjee Tamang. The youngster collected the ball on the rebound and back-flicked it which finally landed up in the net, providing his team an early lead. Kashyap introduced Korean Kim Yong at the expense of Tamang three minutes into the break to instigate more venom into the attacking third. Kim reciprocated well and Shillong Lajong defenders had to toil too hard to neutralise the sturdy Royal Wahingdoh attack. Just seconds before the whistle, Kim rose up to smack a header to which rehenesh had no answer at all. The crowd went into ruptures as the home team salvaged an all important draw to stay afloat in their pursuit of the title.

Hero I-League standing (After game week 16)
McDOWELL MOHUN BAGAN – 28 points (12 matches)
ROYAL WAHINGDOH – 23 points (14 matches)
BENGALURU FC – 22 points (13 matches)

Hero I-League Top Scorer (After game week 16)
Ranti Martins – 14 goals (12 matches)