Kolkata: The unusual rain on a chilled Sunday afternoon seemed to have stalled the otherwise busy weekend in Kolkata but there was no stopping Mohun Bagan who thrashed Churchill Brothers 5-0 at the Vidyasagar Krirangan in Barasat. The win also propelled the Mariners to top of the table courtesy a greater goal difference , (+6) to second placed Minerva Punjab’s (+3), who have the same points from three matches.
In what was a goal fest at a stadium where footballing legend Maradona will be playing two days later, last season’s top scorer Dipanda Dicka struck twice, while Ansumana Kromah, Sheikh Faiaz and Haitian international Sony Norde chipped in with a goal each to bring up the win.
Playing at the slippery wet turf it took just 23 minutes for Bagan to open the scoring through Kromah, who ran through the Churchill defence having received a pass from Faiaz, before firing the ball into the left corner. 11 minutes later, it was 2-0, with Kromah once again at the centre of things.
For a team that signed it’s first foreign player three weeks ago it was always inviting danger to play a high-line defence and led Dicka to scoring two goals in the space of 12 minutes, bringing an end to his goal drought. A wonderful pass from Kromah in the 34th minute facing his own goal, saw the former Aizwal man run clear with the Churchill defenders behind him, finishing past goalkeeper Kithan with a powerful strike.
30 seconds into the second-half and Dicka got his second of the night, with another powerful strike after receiving a pass from Faiaz. As for the former Mohammedan Sporting player Faiaz who had already earned two assists, he got his name into the scoresheet as well after another defensive howler by the Churchill defence. It was also the youngstar’s first goal in the I-League.
Bagan talisman Norde completed the rout in the 84th minute after brilliantly cutting in from the left, to convert a powerful shot with three defenders to beat. Dicka could have we had his first hat-trick for the Mariners in the league but faltered with only the goalkeeper to beat.
The win however brought more worries than joy, as scorers Kromah and Norde joined the league of the other injured players in the team. Right back Arijit Bagui and Yuta Kinowaki, who incured a shoulder injury in the 1-0 over East Bengal were already present and now the addition of two more players added more worry for Bagan gaffer Sanjoy Sen after their second win in the three rounds of I-League matches.