Kolkata: Mohun Bagan’s winning run in the Calcutta Football League finally came to a halt as they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Rainbows SC at their home ground on Wednesday.
Playing against a team which has won just one match in the last five fixtures, the Mariners were expected to win comfortably.
However, Despite several attacks from the Bagan strikers in the early moments of the Match, Rainbows took the lead in the 30th minute when an unmarked Suraj Mahato headed in a wonderful cross from Sujay Dutta. The Mariners defence, who had leaked just two goals in the past five matches were shaky throughout the match and Rainbows could have easily secured an upset over the city giants.
Mohun Bagan despite attacking from all fronts could not score a goal in the first half as the Rainbows defence continuously man marked both Kamo and Kromah, who have been the fulcrum of Bagan’s success so far in this year’s CFL.
The second half saw the Green and Maroon brigade equalise in the 59th minute when Liberian Kromah shot a bullet into the far post to bring some relief into the Bagan camp. But, much to their discontent the home team could not produce any other goal as the scoreline remained untroubled when the referee blew the final whistle.
Although Bagan reached the top of the table it was not an ideal result for them as arch rivals East Bengal who are looking strong to win the CFL once again remain just behind having played a match less.
Rainbows goalie Ankur Das was declared the Man of the Match for his brilliant display that included an one-on-one save against Pintu Mahato in the 19th minute.
Bagan on the other hand will rue the missed chances and wonder what went wrong with the team that had scored 15 goals in the last five matches. They next face Mohammedan Sporting and will probably miss midfielder Chesterpaul Lyngdoh who sustained a head injury during the match.