By Debabrata Majumder

KOLKATA: East Bengal overcame Tollygunge Agragami 1-0 to register their fifth consecutive victory in the ongoing CFL Premier Division – A at Barasat Stadium on Sunday.

The all impotant goal came in the 73rd minute through defender Calum Angus which sellted the evenly contested fixture in East Bengal’s favour.

Heading into the tie, East Bengal gaffer Trevor Morgan made three changes from the side that edge United SC 4-3 last week. Luis Barreto replaced Dibyendu Sarkar under the bar while Samad Ali Mallick and Mehtab Hossain came at the expense of Gurwinder Singh and Nikhil Poojary.

Tollygunge started the match with a lot of intensity compared to their stronger opponents. Tollygunge had the first chance to take the lead in the 10th minute when striker Alfred Jaryan attempted a long range shot which was denied by the crossbar.

Around the 15th minute mark defender Kareem Omolaja Nurain tried his luck from a free-kick but the Nigerian directed his effort off the target.

Meanwhile, East Bengal also created some good moves in patches. The strike pair of Somide Adelaja and Jiten Murmu made some attempts on Tollygunge goal but never really get a grip on proceedings as their moves fizzled once they reach near the rival box.

East Bengal had the only scoring opportunity of the first-half through midfielder Mohammad Rafique whose attempted long-ranger missed the target by a few inches in the 35th minute.

Thereafter, both sides engaged in an end-to-end battle but could not break the deadlock as the first session ended scoreless.

East Bengal looked better in the second half, when the Korean forward Do Dong Hyun entered the field in the 58th minute replacing Adelaja.

Following Dong’s introduction the East Bengal the forward line moved with much cohesion. Tollygunge, on the other hand, looked to keep compact and hit their rivals on the counter attack.

Having created a handful of half chances, East Bengal almost got the breakthrough in the 65th minute but defender Arnab Mondal failed to keep his header on traget off a Mehtab Hossain corner.

The constant attacks from East Bengal bore fruit in the 73rd minute, when Mehtab sent in a inch perfect cross from a right sided corner and Angus made no mistake to head home the opener.

Soon after conceding, Tollygunge coach Ranjan Chowdhury brought in striker Joel Sunday in place of Kareem to give more thrust in the attack. But the East Bengal defense did well to held on their narrow adavantage.

After this win East Bengal moved up to the summit of the CFL satndings with 15 points from 5 games while Tollygunge Agragami remain at sixth with 7 points from as many games.

East Bengal XI: Luis Barreto (GK), Samad Ali Mallick, Calum Angus, Arnab Mondal, Narayan Das, Abinash Ruidas (Prohlad Roy – 59′), Mehtab Hossain, Lalrindika Ralte (Bikash Jairu – 88′), Somide Adelaja (Dong Hyun Do – 58′), Jiten Murmu.

Tollygunge Agragami XI: Kunzang Bhutia (GK), Phoolchand Hembram, Kareem Omolaja Nurain (Joel Sunday – 75′), Gurtej Singh, Shanku Guha, Surabuddin Mallick, Santosh Oraon (Karan Atwal – 74′), Rakesh Masih, Palsang Lama, Raja Das, Alfred Jayran.

By Debabrata Majmder

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan seek redemption when they face Peerless Sports Club in an CFL Premier Division – A encounter at Mohun Bagan Ground on Monday.

Having been defeated Mohun Bagan 2-0 at a pre-season friendly earlier in the season, Peerless will fancy their chances heading into the game while The Mariners looks to set the record straight.

Going into the game Mohun Bagan, who are currently at second spot on 12 points from 4 outings, will be looking for all three points as a positive result will take them ahead of East Bengal to the summit on goal difference, whereas Peerless, who are on fourth position with 7 points, will be eager to upset the mighty Mohun Bagan to give themselves a chance to make a top three finish.

Mohun Bagan won their first two games of the league rather convincingly 5-1 and 4-0 against Aryan Club and George Telegraph respectively but their performance level dipped in next two games against Southern Samity and Bhawanipore Club. Although, Mohun Bagan registered a 1-0 victory in both but those were a bit unconvincing than the first two.

“The match is an important one for us. Even though we have won all our previous matches but every match is a new challenge and Peerless will be a tough opponent,” Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakrabarty said on the eve of the clash.

On the team news front, Bagan coach is expected to shuffle his starting line-up as Afghan defender Zohib Islam Amiri could make his first start of the season replacing Tonmoy Ghosh and skipper Raju Gaikwad is likely to switch his position with the right-back. While the newest foreign acquisition Daniel Bidemi will start on the bench.

Peerless, on the other hand, started their campaign with a goaless draw against Tollygunge Agragami. Then they went on to beat Aryan 3-0 before going down 0-2 against East Bengal. However, the Fuja Tope-led side bounced back to the winning ways with a 2-1 win over United Sports Club in their last match.

Coach Fuja Tope will be relying heavily on the strike pair of Rahim Nabi and Ghanefo Kromah to penetrate the Bagan defense, while the likes of Argha Chakraborty, Sukhwinder Singh, Arijit Bagui and Irfan Khan would form the spine of the team with Nigerian Ugochukwu Godswill leading the defense line.

“Peerless is a very good side and they have some good players like Nabi, Argha and Sukhwinder with a very experienced coach in Fuja Tope but I have full faith on our team and I am hopeful for a positive result tomorrow,” coach Sankarlal added.

For the record, last time when these two faced off in a competitive match it was in the 2013/14 CFL Premier Division which eneded in a 2-2 stalemate at Saltlake Stadium.

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club edge past Aryan Club 1-0 to log their third successive win in the ongoing CFL Premier Division – A on Saturday.

Ivorian forward Leonce Dodoz struck the lone goal of the game in the 73rd minute which separated the teams in a closely contested tie at Barasat Stadium.

Going into the game Mohammedan SC head coach Mridul Banerjee fielded a unchanged side from the previous game against George Telegraph.

Mohammedan SC began the game in attacking mode and created a couple of close chances early on. While strikers Manvir Singh and Dodoz did well to get into spaces, the duo lacked the finish in the Aryan’s final third.

As the half progressed, Mohammedan SC started dominating the possession. On the other hand, Aryan defended deep and had their custodian Raju Ganguly to thank after he denied Manvir, Dodoz and Atinder Mani on multiple occasions as both sides went into the breather tied at goalless.

The second half was a similar story as The Black Panthers dominated majority of the proceedings and attacked with intensity looking for the breakthrough. However, once again it was the lack of finishing that let them down.

Needing a goal,  Mohammedan SC introduced Parminder Singh in place of Atinder Mani. The move had an immediate impact as The Black Panthers suddenly started to look much more purposeful.

Mohammedan SC’s persistence finally paid off as they pulled ahead in the 73th minute when Dodoz slotted the opener after being set up by Lancine Toure from Mumtaz Akhtar’s left sided corner.

In the final quarter, Aryan tried hard for the equaliser but thanks to keeper Shayon Roy, who pulled off some brilliant saves and rightly named Man of the Match later, Mohammedan SC managed to hold onto their slender advantage and walked out with all three points.

After this win Mohammedan SC now have 12 points from 5 games and will face Southern Samity next on August 24 at the same venue.

By Debabrata Majumder

KOLKATA: Having won four matches on the trot, East Bengal will be looking to continue the winning momentum in the ongoing Calcutta Premier Division – A, when they take on Tollygunge Agragami on Sunday at Barasat Stadium.

With 12 points to their credit from 4 matches, a win will take the Red & Golds at the summit of the league table. while Tollygunge, who are on 7 points from as many matches, will be eager to bounce back to the winning ways after suffering a shock 0-2 defeat against Aryan Club in their last fixture.

High on confidence after winning a 4-3 thriller against United Sports Club thanks to a Lalrindika Ralte brace, East Bengal would once again rely on him for goals along with Do Dong Hyun who is likely to make a start after coming as a substitute in consecutive games.

Avinash Ruidas, with his speedy run on the flank, have made it difficult for United SC in the previous match. However, the Tollygunge defense led by Nigerian Kareem Omolaja Nurain is expected to give the Trevor Morgan boys some hard time.

“We have won all our previous matches but I think we haven’t performed according to our strength yet. We have to do much better than this to go the distance,” said Morgan.

On the team news front, East Bengal will be strengthened with the return of experienced midfielder Mehtab Hossain and the first choice right-back Rahul Bheke, who missed the last match due to injury. Meanwhile, keeper Luis Barreto could also return to the starting line-up.

Tollygunge, on the other hand, stated their campaign with a lot of promise and even pulled off the first upset of the season when they beat a strong Mohammedan Sporting Club 2-1. However they lost their next match against a weaker Aryan Club.

Facing East Bengal, Tollygunge Agragami coach Ranjan Chowdhury, who used to be Morgan’s deputy in East Bengal, will be relying on Nigerian striker Joel Sunday for goals upfront. Joining him will be the likes of Surabuddin Mallick, Ram Malik and Reisangmei Vashum who would play a crucial role in the midfield.

“It will be a competitive match. Tollygunge is an unpredictable team. They are capable of surprising anyone. They have a very good midfield and forward line and we need to stay aware of them. But we are keen to be on the winning side,” Morgan added.

Last time when these two teams meet in the Calcutta Premier Division – A last season, it was East Bengal who came out victorius 1-0 and the Red & Golds, a year later, will look to repeat the feat once again.

The match at Barasat Stadium kicks off at 5 pm on Sunday and it will be televised on ETV News Bangla.

By Debabrata Majumder

KOLKATA: Mohammedan Sporting Club will be aiming for all three points when they face Aryan Club in the ongoing Calcutta Premier Division – A at the Barasat Stadium on Saturday.

The Black Panthers currently at third on nine points from 4 games, a 2-0 or bigger win against Aryan take them to second, but the coach Mridul Banerjee has revealed that right now he is not ready to think about the points table and wants to take one game at a time.

“The league is very competitive and all teams are almost equal. Though we have won our last two matches but I think there is still room for improvement and we need to maintain a certain level of consistency going forward,” coach Banerjee added.

However, heading into the game on the back of a convincing 4-1 win over George Telegraph midweek, Mohamedan SC will be looking to overcome the challenge of a hectic schedule as they play their third game in a span of eight days.

Facing Aryan, coach Banerjee is likely to field the same starting line-up that brought back-to-back victories for the side. Winger Sheikh Faiaz, who is recovering from injury, would be missing the action.

Aryan, on the other hand, suffered the biggest defeat of the season so far when they went down 1-5 against Mohun Bagan but the Rajdeep Nandi coached side recovered with 2-0 win over Tollygunge Agragami in their last match.

Aryan will be banking heavily on their attacking duo of Kazeem Amobi and Obasi Moses for goals upfront. Meanwhile, the likes of Tanmoy Kundu, Goutam Thakur and Rajib Ghoroi are expected to pull the strings from midfield.

“Aryan is a tricky side who has the potential to beat any side on their given day and we have to be cautious against them, but having said that we are going for all three points tomorrow,” coach Banerjee concluded.

The last time when these two faced off in the Calcutta Premier Division – A last season the game ended in a 1-1 draw so this time around the Black Panthers will be eager for a win to maintain pressure on their city rivals Mohun Bagan and East Bengal who currently occupy the top two places in the standings.

The match at Barasat kicks off at 5.00 pm and it will be televised live on ETV News Bangla.

By Debabrata Majumder

KOLKATA: Mohun Bagan held on to Thangjam Saran Singh’s first half goal to edge past Bhawanipore Club 1-0 in the ongoing CFL Premier Division -A, on Thursday at Mohun Bagan Ground.

With this victory, Mohun Bagan have now moved up to the summit of the CFL with 12 points from 4 games, while Bhawanipore remain 0n ninth with a solitary point from as many games.

Heading into the game, Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty named an unchanged line-up from the one that beat Southern Samity 1-0 on Sunday. Meanwhile, his counterpart Debjit Ghosh made four changes with Suman Malo, Debayan Saha, Bijendra Rai and Abubakar Al-Hassan coming in for Jony Routh, Satish Singh, Jagannath Sana and Orok Orok Essien.

Both the sides started off brightly, initiating several moves, however it was Mohun Bagan who shot into the early lead in the 7th minute when Azharudin Mallick sent a perfect cross from the right side for Saran who made no mistake to slot the ball home.

Four Minutes later Saran came teasingly close to scoring his brace, however his effort off a Tapan Maity pass missed the target by a whisker.

Bhawanipore also had their chance around midway through the first half, but Manorajan Singh’s header  from Tirthankar Sarkar’s free-kick was nicely saved by Mohun Bagan custodian Arnab Das Sarma.

Towards the end of the half, Mohun Bagan came with a few good moves but Bhawanipore managed to hold on defending deep as the first half ended 1-0.

The second half brought the best out of Bhawanipore as they had majority of possession and put a lot of pressure on Mohun Bagan who sat back and looked to counter the attack.

Soon after the break, Bhawanipore introduced Sana in place of Suman to give more thrust in the attack.

The first real chance of the second half fell for Bhawanipore through Bijendra who had a chance at goal in the 51st minute but his shot went wide.

Six minute later, Mohun Bagan had a chance to finish the game but Zohib Islam Amiri, who replaced Robinson Singh to make his club debut, hit the woodwork from a free-kick just outside the box

However, the best chance of the game fell for Bhawanipore in the 79th minute when Lalkamal Bhowmick played a long ball for Sana on the left side but the winger unbelievably failed to slot home after dribbling past the goalkeeper.

From there on, Mohun Bagan focused on their defence at large not to allow the opposition to level things up. With the Mohun Bagan defence standing tall right through the match, Bhawanipore finished yet another closely contested encounter on the losing end.

Mohun Bagan will face Peerless SC next on August 22 at Mohun Bagan Ground while Bhawanipore will take on the same opponent on August 26 at Barasat Stadium.

Photo By Ujjal Sarkhel.

By Debabrata Majumder

BARASAT: Mohammedan Sporting Club thrashed George Telegraph 4-1 to log their third win in the ongoing Calcutta Premier Division – A, at Barasat Stadium on Wednesday.

The Black Panthers, who lead 2-0 at the interval, scored through Manvir Singh (10th & 31st), Atinder Mani (49th) and Parminder Singh (90+3rd) while Rajib Shaw (84th) pulled a goal back for George Telegraph.

Going into the match coach Mridul Banerjee fielded a unchanged team from the previous match against Bhawanipore Club.

Mohammedan SC started off aggresively and surged ahead within just ten minutes into the game when Manvir slotted off a Dipendu Dowary pass.

Having scored, Mohammedan SC increased pressure on the rival defense and their pressure yielded another goal just past the half hour mark when Manvir scored from Atinder’s pass to give his team a two goal advantage before half time.

Mridul Banerjee’s men began the second half strongly and just four minutes into the half they virtually finished off the match after Atinder converted from a brilliant through ball played by Leonce Dodoz inside the George Telegraph box.

Thereafter, Mohammedan SC dominated majority of the proceedings and in the process several chances fell for Dodoz and Manvir but the duo lacked finish in the final third, otherwise the scoreline would have been much bigger.

While Mohammedan SC pressed high up, George Telegraph managed to pull a goal back against the run of the play when Rajib capitalised on a defensive error to beat Mohammedan SC keeper Shayon Roy.

Then, substitute Parminder, who replaced Manvir, rounded off the tally scoring from Dodoz’s pass in the added time.

After this win Mohammedan SC moved up to the third spot with 9 points from 4 games while Geore Telegaraph remain at tenth with a solitary point from as many games.

Mohammedan SC will take on Aryan Club next on Saturday (20th August) at the same venue.