Mohun Bagan returned to winning ways under the guidance of Khalid Jamil after beating Minerva Punjab 2-0 at the Saltlake Stadium on Wednesday afternoon
Sony Norde once again stole the limelight for Bagan as he was the livewire for the Mariners in the attacking third. Aser Dipanda regained his shooting boots (69′) after Omar El Hussieny scored the opening goal from the spot (30′).
Khalid Jamil. in his first match as head coach of Mohun Bagan, made five changes to the side from their defeat against Real Kashmir. Dalraj Singh and Gurjinder Kumar made their way back into a four-man backline. Former Mumbai FC player Darren Caldeira started in place of Sourav Das in midfield. Khiangte was dropped from the matchday squad and Azharuddin Mallick started on the left flank. Ugandan striker Henry Kisekka also found himself relegated to the bench as Jamil preferred Aser Dipanda up front.
Minerva Punjab also shook up things in the middle since their 2-0 loss against Churchill Brothers. Prabhjot Singh, Akshdeep Singh, Thoiba Singh, and Yu Kuboki made their way into the starting line-up as Paul Munster chose to field his side in a 5-4-1 formation.
Bagan kept knocking on Minerva’s goal but The Warriors held their fort well to weather the initial onslaught.
Just as Minerva started to enjoy possession, Lancine Toure brought down Dipanda inside the box and referee Ramaswamy Srikrishna Coimbatore had no qualms in pointing towards the spot. Omar Elhussieny stepped up and calmly slotted into the net, sending Bhaskar Roy the wrong way.
Bagan continued their domination in the second half as well. Yuta Kinowaki and Omar were winning the midfield battle against Minerva which complicated matters for Munster’s team.
The hosts will continue to enjoy home advantage when take on NEROCA on December 12 whereas the defending champions will face Gokulam Kerala in Chandigarh on January 19.
A special evening at YBK as goals from Hero of the match Elhussieny and Dicka guide @Mohun_Bagan to a 2-0 victory against @minervapunjabfc#MBMPFC #HeroILeague #ILeagueIConquer pic.twitter.com/K4WnLDnsmJ
— Hero I-League (@ILeagueOfficial) January 9, 2019
