I-League Team of the round 21: Douhou and Duffy star in a Salgaocar win
Goal summarizes all the action of the I-League and selects a team from the best performers in the penultimate round...
We have only a solitary round remaining before the close of the I-League, as we bring to you the best performers of Round XXI, with Mumbai FC not in action...
Shillong Lajong were downed in their own backyard by Pune FC 1-0 with an early Zohmingliana Ralte goal proving to be the difference.
Shillong Lajong were downed in their own backyard by Pune FC 1-0 with an early Zohmingliana Ralte goal proving to be the difference.
East Bengal finally got a much needed win after defeating Royal Wahingdoh 2-0 at the Barasat Stadiumwith Dudu Omagbemi scoring a brace, Luis Barreto pulling off some smart saves and Mehtab Hosseincalling the shots in midfield.
Mohun Bagan made it two wins in a row to preserve their top spot with a 2-0 win over Sporting clube de Goa with Bello Rasaq and Sehnaj Singh bailing the hosts out.
Mohun Bagan made it two wins in a row to preserve their top spot with a 2-0 win over Sporting clube de Goa with Bello Rasaq and Sehnaj Singh bailing the hosts out.
A brave and fighting performance from Dempo SC saw them hold Bengaluru FC 1-1 with Uttam Rai scoring a goal on debut and Rowilson Rodrigues a towering figure at the back.
Salgaocar FC finally decided to come good as they thrashed Bharat FC 5-1 to get a much needed win in the relegation fight, with Douhou Pierre and Daryl Duffy scoring a brace each and Zakeer Mundamparanotching up the assists.
Westwood Confident Of Good Show Against South China AA In AFC Cup Pre-Quarterfinal
Sha Tin, Hong Kong: Bengaluru FC will look to shrug off fatigue courtesy cramped scheduling and a delayed flight when they face South China AA in a one-legged AFC Cup pre-quarterfinal fixture to be played at the Mong Kok Stadium, in Hong Kong, on Tuesday evening. Less than 24 hours after returning from Goa where they played out a 1-1 draw with Dempo in the I-League, the Blues landed in Sha Tin on Monday evening after a six-hour delay owing to inclement weather in Hong Kong.
The only Indian side to have made the knockout stages, Bengaluru FC will be up against Hong Kong’s most decorated football club in South China and Westwood is confident that his boys will rise to the occasion. “We’ve played a game on Saturday in the League, the flight times to Hong Kong weren’t ideal and there was a delay as well. But now that we are here, we won’t be looking back at any of that. We’ve come here to do our best and will try putting on a good performance. At this club, we’ve always been positive and strong and that doesn’t change,” said Westwood while addressing the press on the eve of the game.
South China made the Round-of-16 as Group G toppers with an all-win record that saw them score 19 goals and concede only three in the league stages. In fact, they were the only team with a 100% win record through the eight groups.
But despite the numbers and the history that precedes South China, Westwood said his team were going into the game with an idea of what they are up against but will be under no pressure whatsoever. “We played a team from Hong Kong, Eastern Sports Club, on our pre-season tour and we got a little feel of the football from there. As far as South China are concerned, we’ve managed to watch a few recent videos, have studied them and roughly know what they are about. We aren’t going into the game blind. They have good foreigners, are an organised side and are hard to break down. But we are under no pressure. We’ve done well to make it this far in our AFC Cup debut and we go into the game with nothing to lose,” opined the Englishman.
The Blues will also look to fall back upon their impressive away form in the tournament that saw them come away with maximum points from trips to Singapore and Maldives.
Westwood has a completely fit and available side at his disposal as do the hosts and it will be interesting to see the line-up he rolls out tomorrow given the Blues play the I-League title decider against Mohun Bagan only four days later.
We Believe In Team Work And Coordination At Mohun Bagan: Sanjoy Sen
NEW DELHI: Who doesn’t fantasize of romantic and fairytale endings in the cosmology of Football? Who doesn’t have a fetish of seeing Champions getting pummeled by the challenger? And who doesn’t dream of a title-decider between two of the best Teams in the country? And that is what’s in store for the myriads of Hero I-League fans on Sunday (May 31, 2015).
After 13 long years, title aspirants McDowell Mohun Bagan stand on the verge of being crowned Champions of Hero I-League; that is if they manage to draw or defeat current Champions JSW Bengaluru FC at the Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru on what has turned into the grand finale of the ‘holy grail of Indian Football.’
With tensions boiling and history on the course of being re-written again, www.the-aiff.com caught up with Mohun Bagan’s Head Coach Sanjoy Sen and conversed at length about his squad’s preparation for the final match, handling the immense pressure, Bagan’s aim for the last match and a lot more.
EXCERPTS:
You go into the final match with a 2 point lead over JSW Bengaluru FC. How do you define that?It’s a double edged sword. It’s an advantage because we are currently at the top of Hero I-League and that is bound to inspire us. At the same time it’s a disadvantage because JSW Bengaluru FC have nothing to lose and will play with their natural game. You never know, it may hurt us.
Bagan only need a draw to crown themselves as Hero I-League Champions. Will you apply ‘park-the-bus’ tactics?Never! We will play for a win. If we play with a defensive mindset then we have already lost the battle before it has begun. Committing bodies behind the ball is bound to leak goals and that is something we will not do. We will adapt an attacking approach and see how it pans out.
Bengaluru FC have big match players. How do you thwart them?If we play together as a Team we have the capacity to subdue anybody. That said Bagan and Bengaluru FC are two of the most consistent Teams in Hero I-League and we have to be wary of them. It will certainly not be a walk in the park for us — we will have to be at the best of our abilities.
Bagan defeated JSW Bengaluru FC 4-1 last time around. Do you think it will play as a psychological advantage?I don’t think there will be any psychological advantage. It is a new match, a chance for both Teams to garner a win and we will play it as so.
Any pre-match jitters?Everyone present within the Bagan squad is aware of the significance of the match. If there is any pressure then the Players need to absorb it. We have worked hard to reach this point and we hope to see it through. We just need to emulate our best selves and play like we have in the Hero I-League, all season long.
What was your mantra behind this monumental run?I would attribute it to our team spirit. We played good Football in the Hero Federation Cup and we started to build our Team from there. I knew that my Team had the potential and I had mentioned of being title aspirants at the very start. For that we needed to play together as Team and in coordination with each other. Team is above any individual.
What happened in between? Were you choking?The Hero I-League is a marathon one and scenarios like this happen. What matters is that we showed strength of character and bounced back to grab our opportunity. When you are downtrodden you need display your mettle and strength and we did just that.
Over the last two matches, Bagan’s opening goals have come via set pieces. That must have made you happy.We have practiced them regularly during training and I think hard work that we had put in, paid off in those two matches. But we can’t always rely on them to provide us goals.
Relegation Threat Menaces Shillong Lajong Following Consecutive Home Losses
SHILLONG: It was a disappointing day in the office for Shillong Lajong FC, as Pune FC secured a 1-0 with a fifth minute goal from Zohmingliana Ralte at the JN Stadium here on Sunday.
A win in this game would have assured Lajong of a place in next season’s Hero I-League, but the frustrated Lajong Faithfuls will have to wait until the final game of the season to find out whether their team survive relegation.
Action started in SLFC’s favour with Cornell Glen firing in a left-footed shot in just the third minute that Pune goalie Amrinder Singh saved well with a sharp dive to his right. The Pune custodian had a very good day under the bar. He was put to the test almost throughout the match, but ultimately had every attempt on goal covered and he was the deserving Hero of the Match.
If that buoyed up the fans, they were brought down with a shuddering crash after Zohmingliana benefited from a piece of luck just a couple of minutes later when a corner kick rebounded off the crossbar, allowing him to head the ball in for the only goal of the game.
Darko Nikac and Ishfaq Ahmed had their good moments for the visitors, too, but they were for the most part on the defensive, though Lajong could not make their dominance of possession count for anything in the end. Ahmed almost sealed the deal for the Red Lizards with a last gasp goal in the second half, when momentum had clearly swung the home team’s way.
Substitute Durga Boro, Penn Orji and Glen tried their ultimate up front, but they were continually frustrated and poor finishing was also to blame. Boithang Haokip generally had a day to forget, while Seiminlen Doungel failed to convert on three occasions – including the simplest of chances from within the six-yard box in the 63rd minute, somehow managing to hit the crossbar. He was substituted around 15 minutes later for Lalrammuana.
The hosts were denied a goal in the final minute of regulation time when Glen was ruled offside by the linesman and the Trinidadian then saw a later header easily collected by Amrinder off a corner kick deep in stoppage time.
Pune did not look the best side, but they maintained their good run of form against the Reds, now extending their unbeaten run against the Shillong outfit to six matches. The Red Lizards are in fifth position on 29 points and a win in their final outing could theoretically see them finish this season’s campaign in third place.
Lajong, meanwhile, are now ninth and will have to pick themselves up for the final fixture against East Bengal on Saturday.
Gear Up For The Photo Finish In Hero I-League
NEW DELHI: The ingredient for any successful League is its set of avid supporters, the Footballing acumen and finesse showcased by the Players plying their trade in the League and last, but foremost, the competition which boils within the League – testing the cohesion of Teams and the mettle of Players.
The Hero I-League this season has been no less than a wild spinning cauldron, imbedded with twists and turns at every moment and has tested the toughness of the players, both physically and mentally, with its rigorous competition.
Perhaps with two Teams out of eleven, McDowell Mohun Bagan and JSW Bengaluru FC, vying for their place in history and six Teams involved in the relegation battle is proof enough of the high level of competition which runs like blood within the Hero I-League.
While Mohun Bagan lead the Hero I-League table with 38 points, it would be naïve to dismiss title aspirants Bengaluru FC, who have enough fire power in their arsenal to garner a win and snatch the coveted trophy out of Bagan’s hand. As the scenario stands the showdown on May 31, 2015, between Bengaluru FC and Mohun Bagan is bound to covet itself as the title-decider, much like Manchester United against Chelsea on May 11, 2008.
If the League standings are anything to go by then the mid-table of the Hero I-League is no alien to the competitive nature of this season and is no less than a pit of vipers which has the ability to suck any team into the relegation battle.
Besides third placed Royal Wahingdoh, who have done pretty well for a Team playing in its first promoted season, Kingfisher East Bengal and Pune FC, who are both tied at 29 points in fourth and fifth position.
Six Teams entangled within a 3 point difference, are entwined in a heated battle to maintain their position inside the holy grail of Indian Football. And while Mumbai FC have garnered themselves a sort of vantage point, which looks to evade them from the drop with 21 points, Kalyani Bharat FC, who have had a long season lag at the bottom of the Table with 18.
Caught between this melodrama, which unfolds every match day and captures the essence of competition to its fullest, are Teams such as; Salgaocar (7th), Sporting Goa (8th), Shillong Lajong (9th), Dempo SC(10th).
Nevertheless, with various permutations and combinations still left to embed in the equation of Hero I-League, the five Teams fighting to avoid the drop must aim for a win to guarantee their place in the next edition of the Hero I-League.
With the League Table dissected, one can conclude that the level of intense competition framed in this season’s Hero I-League is bore by the level, which seems to be on an upward surge, of Football in India.
The Hero I-League this season has been far from predictive this season and has captivated its audience, while seducing them with tricks of the trade, like the blockbuster TV Series Game Of Thrones.
With a single Matchday left, the competition is like never before – as the battle for the Championship rages on at the top, the battle for survival continues at the bottom – one can only assume and speculate the numerous permutations and combinations which the Hero I-League has still left to seduce us with.
Matchday 22
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