Mohun Bagan failed to get past ONGC and had to settle for a goalless draw in a fifth round I-League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi. Both teams had their chances in the match but failed to convert any. The result took Mohun Bagan to seven points from five matches while ONGC move to 2 points from five matches.
ONGC, who won the All India Public Sector Football Tournament on Thursday and were playing their second match in consecutive days, begun in style. They were the better team in the first fifteen minutes. They pushed the Kolkata outfit into their own half with Japanese recruit Yusa Katsumi and Jatin Bisht patrolling the midfield. Yusa with his sudden burst of speed and Jatin with his distribution spelt danger for Bagan. A Yusa direct freekick from just outside the box which eventually hit the wall and a Jatin long-ranger which missed by a whisker could have spelt trouble for Bagan.
Bagan’s first real chance came in the 31st minute when Oadafa’s free-kick from the corner of the box narrowly missed the mark. Thereafter, Bagan slowly regrouped and came close to closing on two occasions – first a Denson Devdas header went straight to rival custodian Prosenjit Ghosh and then Odafa failed to head in Syed Rahim Nabi’s cross from the right.
Coach Subrata Bhattacharya at the end of the match. ‘The day Odafa will score, Bagan will win; the day he won’t, Bagan will fumble.’
Bagan Coach Banerjee dismissed the comments saying: ‘Mohun Bagan is about Odafa alone. It was bad luck. We had our chances but couldn’t convert them.’
ONGC, who won the All India Public Sector Football Tournament on Thursday and were playing their second match in consecutive days, begun in style. They were the better team in the first fifteen minutes. They pushed the Kolkata outfit into their own half with Japanese recruit Yusa Katsumi and Jatin Bisht patrolling the midfield. Yusa with his sudden burst of speed and Jatin with his distribution spelt danger for Bagan. A Yusa direct freekick from just outside the box which eventually hit the wall and a Jatin long-ranger which missed by a whisker could have spelt trouble for Bagan.
Bagan’s first real chance came in the 31st minute when Oadafa’s free-kick from the corner of the box narrowly missed the mark. Thereafter, Bagan slowly regrouped and came close to closing on two occasions – first a Denson Devdas header went straight to rival custodian Prosenjit Ghosh and then Odafa failed to head in Syed Rahim Nabi’s cross from the right.
Coach Subrata Bhattacharya at the end of the match. ‘The day Odafa will score, Bagan will win; the day he won’t, Bagan will fumble.’
Bagan Coach Banerjee dismissed the comments saying: ‘Mohun Bagan is about Odafa alone. It was bad luck. We had our chances but couldn’t convert them.’