Profligate Mohun Bagan held by 10-man Arrows
29 Dec 2017 5:07 PM GMT
Kolkata: Former champions Mohun Bagan failed to make their 'home debut' count as a 10-man Indian Arrows dished out a spirited show to return with a creditable 1-1 draw in an I-League fixture here on Friday.
A profligate Mohun Bagan took the penalty route to draw first blood in the 27th minute through Aser Pierrick Dipanda Dicka in what appeared to be a contentious decision by the referee.
But their joy was shortlived as the All India Football Federation's developmental outfit restored parity within six minutes in a fine display of passing football with Rahul Balan slotting it home.
It was Rahim Ali who raced past Kingshuk Debanth and Eze Kingsely from the left before a cool-headed Rahul finished it beautifully getting past the Mohun Bagan defenders.
Mohun Bagan stepped up their attack in the second-half and the Arrows got a twin blow -- first in the 65th minute when Amarjit Singh Kiyam was sent off and later in the 74th minute when Ashish Rai had to be stretchered off after receiving a head injury.
But despite playing with 10-man, the Arrows, who consists of mostly India's under-17 World Cup players, put up a solid show.
Goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh also put up a fine save to deny Ansumana Kromah at the stroke of halftime to return with the Man-of-the-Match award and hand Mohun Bagan a hattrick of draws at home.
It was for the first time that an I-League match was held at the Kolkata Maidan and the venue witnessed a near fullhouse at the 17,000-capacity stadium as crowd turned up in large numbers, even for a weekday match with a 2pm kickoff.
But disappointed with the result, the crowd booed Mohun Bagan's I-League winning coach Sanjoy Sen with 'go back' slogans while giving a standing ovation to the Luis Norton de Matos' side.
"It's natural, and obvious to be disappointed. I'm not blaming them, they have come all the way to see us win at home. How many more opportunities would we have got? We have no excuse. It's more shameful than losing," Sen said referring to their string of draws at home.
After six matches, which include four draws, Mohun Bagan now have 10 points, three points clear of Indian Arrows at number six on I-League standings.
It was a like a festive atmosphere at the Mohun Bagan ground as hundreds were seen on the lookout for tickets to gain a last-minute entry.
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