Kolkata: Mohun Bagan continued their winning run beating Railways FC 3-0 to put up another dominating performance and make a statement in the ongoing Calcutta Football League.
Despite being injured and uncertain to play, midfielder Ansumana Kromah started the match for the Mariners. But the day belonged to his foreign teammate Ivorian Kamo Stephane Bayi who had a spectacular match after not doing well in the first fixture.
Facing Railways FC, Bagan put up a similar performance as in the previous game against Southern Samity, first failing to score a goal in the first half and then coming out all guns blazing in the second to win the match with goals from Chesterpaul Lyngdoh, Kamo and Shilton D’Silva.
Despite all the attacks in the first half Bagan failed to put one inside the net, with the first chance of the match coming in the 9th minute when a beautiful cross from Lyngdoh was put down well by Kromah, but he failed to score, firing his shot just inches wide of the goal.
A brilliant run by Koma in the 41st minute saw him run past the Railways defence with ease, but was pulled down in the box. However, appeals for a penalty by the Bagan players and fans in unison was turned down as the referee instead showed a yellow card to the Ivorian for diving as the first half came to an end.
The second half started in a similar fashion for the Green and Maroon brigade as they continued to attack to keep the Railways’ defence on it’s toe. Lyngdoh soon scored in the 64th minute through a brilliant finish to break the shackles.
The opening goal set the Bagan attack running as Kamo soon made it 2-0 six minutes later. Shilton D’Silva put the final nail in the coffin scoring the third goal in the 92nd minute to make it two wins in two matches for the Mariners.
Having last won the CFL back in 2009, Mohun Bagan looks desperate this time to have their hands on the title. They have undergone a complete revamp of the squad following the departure of most of the players to the more lucrative ISL and have roped in few players who were not selected in the draft. Also they have made a host of other signings.
The grief of not winning the CFL for the last seven years combined with having to see arch rivals East Bengal lifting it for a record seven consecutive years has made the Bagan board sign upcoming stars such as Shilton D’Silva and Azharuddin Mallick to aim for glory this campaign.
Despite not much success in the tournament, Bagan however has been highly successful in national football, winning the I-League in 2014 and having finished as runner-up in 2015 and 2016 in the I-League.
Led by Shankarlal Chakraborty, Bagan looks to do everything possible to win the title this time around. With back to back wins in two matches, Mohun Bagan currently lead the CFL table, having a better goal difference than East Bengal, who are in the second position.