I-League: ONGC hold clumsy Bagan to goalless draw

New Delhi: The giant of Kolkata, Mohun Bagan have earned only one point through a goal-less draw in their away match against ONGC here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Friday. From very early in the match Mohun Bagan never looked like they would get a full three points, and certainly missed the services of Australian star striker Tolgay Ozbey.

The first half of the match was evenly balanced whereas the second half mostly belonged to Bagan. They created lot of opportunities but they all went in vain. In the fourth minute of the second half Jewel Raja made a nice cross for Odafa in the opposition’s box but the star striker could not reach it. This was the time Mohun Bagan were really pressing hard as Odafa again dribbled three players and took a blinder from just outside the box, but this time the ONGC goalkeeper Prosenjit Ghosh saved a certain goal.

A couple minutes after, Mohun Bagan almost got a goal but Robin Gurung made a goal-line save which created some confusion as the opposition players were convinced that it was a genuine goal. The referee thought otherwise. Later, Bagan created a few more opportunities which also proved futile. ONGC too also had couple of good opportunities, most notable in the 72nd minute when Hassan Adfola took a half turn and made a shot but just missed the goal.

Before coming to New Delhi, Bagan won two back-to-back matches but faltered again. This may cost them dearly in the later half of the tournament. “It happens in football, we missed too many chances,” said Mohun Bagan’s assistant coach Mridul Bannerjee. “The midfield is a concern for us, Odafa needed a bit more support upfront."

Indian national and Mohun Bagan right wing Rahim Nabi added: “It is good to have one point from the away match. Ups and downs are inevitable in such a long league. Karim is taking over and I hope he will do something good for Bagan since he is a great coach.”

Bagan, who are at the moment without a coach as Karim Bencherifa will take over from November 19, will be looking forward to consolidate their campaign in the upcoming matches.